Upcoming Match-ups

Susan Rice Becomes Favorite to Be Biden’s Vice President; Harris Falls to Second

Robert Duff

by Robert Duff in Politics News

Updated Aug 11, 2020 · 1:04 PM PDT

Susan Rice speaking
Susan Rice, national security advisor during the Obama Admiminstration, has emerged as the -130 favorite to be Democrat Joe Biden's choice as his Vice-Presidential candidate. Photo by US Institute of Peace (Wikimedia).
  • Former Obama Administration national security advisor Susan Rice is now the odds-on favorite to be selected as Joe Biden’s Vice-Presidential running mate
  • Longtime favorite Kamala Harris has dropped to second at odds of +160.
  • Is it time to fade the junior Senator from California?

The contest to be Joe Biden’s 2020 running mate now appears to be a two-person race, and there’s a new person out in front.

Susan Rice has overtaken longtime leader Kamala Harris as the favorite to be selected as the Vice-Presidential candidate by presumptive Democratic Presidential candidate Joe Biden. Rice is listed as the -130 chalk in the latest betting lines.

Harris, the leader in this race for months, faded to the second-favorite at odds of +160.

2020 Democratic Vice-Presidential Odds

Candidate Odds
Susan Rice +300
Kamala Harris +160
Gretchen Whitmer +1000
Val Demings +1200
Elizabeth Warren +2000
Karen Bass +2000
Tammy Duckworth +2000
Michelle Obama +2500
Keisha Lance Bottoms +4000
Hillary Clinton +7500
Michelle Lujan Grisham +10000
Stacey Abrams +10000
Tammy Baldwin +15000

Odds taken August 11th.

Across the leading sportsbooks, Biden is the -170 favorite in the 2020 presidential election odds. Americans are slated to go to the polls to elect a President on Nov. 3rd.

Dishing Up Rice

A national security advisor during the Obama administration, Rice, 55, is making a late move in the odds. Leaks are revealing that she may very well be Biden’s choice as VP. A former Obama official told BBC News that Rice would be Biden’s running mate.

Rice would certainly bring plenty of diplomatic and foreign policy expertise were she to be added to the Democratic ticket. During her tenure, she helped negotiate the Iran nuclear deal and the Paris Climate Agreement.

At 32, she was already working as an assistant secretary of state. Rice also served as US Ambassador to the United Nations. Her presence could help heal the international relations fractured by the administration of current US President Donald Trump.

Critics, though, point out Rice’s connections to Benghazi. That was the assault on the US Embassy in Libya that left four Americans dead. It’s a favorite talking point of conservatives.

With Trump flailing in the polls, why give his side a valuable and familiar asset? It’s a topic that they’ll hammer away at on the election trail.

Harris Isn’t Hopeless

Her odds may be fading but don’t sleep on Harris as a VP contender just yet. With a background in law enforcement, Harris could prove the perfect foil to Trump’s law-and-order campaign rhetoric.

She was district attorney for San Francisco and Attorney General of California. This was prior to earning election as California’s junior Senator in 2017.

Harris has run and won election campaigns. Rice has never done that. A tough questioner on the Senate floor, Harris is also a powerful presence on the debate stage.

Will Dems Veep This Up?

Democrats are infamous for their uncanny ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. A last-second decision to move away from Harris for Rice could prove disastrous. It might be the decision that helps give Trump four more years in the White House.

It could be argued that this will be the most important Vice-Presidential selection in the history of US Presidential elections.

YouTube video

Biden is 77. Voters will want to see a VP candidate capable of stepping into the role as head of the free world. Will there be as much confidence in voting for Biden if he’s standing alongside a running mate who’s never previously run for election?

Rice is the current favorite but Harris remains the wisest choice and the best bet.

Pick: Kamala Harris (+160)

Author Image