Betting odds show that Pete Buttigieg is the favorite to be selected as Kamala Harris‘ candidate for vice president.
The U.S. secretary of transport could be the second name on the Democratic Party‘s ticket for the election in November. He is the bookmakers’ favorite, according to the oddschecker, which puts his odds at 39/5.
Sunday saw yet another major turn of events in the U.S. election, when President Joe Biden pulled out of the race and endorsed Harris as the Democratic candidate. It came after weeks of pressure to step down from within the Democratic Party, which must now pick its nominee by August 7. If this does indeed end up being Harris, she will need to choose a running mate.
Buttigieg, from South Bend, Indiana, ran for the presidential nomination in 2020, before eventually deciding to suspend his campaign and endorse Biden.
AP
He holds qualifications from Harvard University and Oxford University, where he earned a degree in philosophy, politics and economics.
Buttigieg, the first openly gay Cabinet member in U.S. history to be confirmed by the Senate, served as an intelligence officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve and was deployed to Afghanistan in 2014.
The 42-year-old joined the voices endorsing Harris on Sunday, when he wrote on X: “Kamala Harris is now the right person to take up the torch, defeat Donald Trump, and succeed Joe Biden as president.
“I have seen her extraordinary leadership firsthand, working closely with her during the 2020 campaign and then in the historically effective Biden-Harris administration.
“I will do all that I can to help her win this election to lead America forward as our next President.”
White House officials quoted by Politico said Buttigieg is considered a strong candidate against Donald Trump’s running mate – J.D. Vance. Buttigieg reportedly caught the attention of leading Democrats when he spoke about Vance on HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher on Friday.
Referring to the Ohio senator’s change in his position on Trump, Buttigieg said: “I knew a lot of people like him when I got to Harvard. I found a lot of people like him who would say whatever they needed to get ahead, and five years ago that seemed like being the anti-Trump Republican so that’s what he was.”
Buttigieg went on to say: “Five years later, the way he gets ahead is that (Trump) is the greatest thing since sliced bread.”
Other VP nominees include California Governor Gavin Newsom, 25/1, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, 24/1, and former first lady Michelle Obama, 32/1.
Newsom, long thought to be a possible presidential candidate for the Democrats, has also endorsed Harris.
He wrote on X: “Tough. Fearless. Tenacious. With our democracy at stake and our future on the line, no one is better to prosecute the case against Donald Trump’s dark vision and guide our country in a healthier direction than America’s Vice President, Kamala Harris.”
Whitmer, whose state is considered a key battleground, has said: “My job in this election will remain the same: doing everything I can to elect Democrats and stop Donald Trump, a convicted felon whose agenda of raising families’ costs, banning abortion nationwide, and abusing the power of the White House to settle his own scores is completely wrong for Michigan.”
Obama has repeatedly said she has no interest in running.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.