Presidential election odds take shape with Trump, Harris likely candidates
A day after President Joe Biden announced his decision to drop out of the presidential race and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, betting markets have drawn the all-but-presumptive nominee into a tight heat with the still favored Donald Trump.
"It seemed only a matter of time before Joe Biden would stand aside as Democrat nominee and Kamala Harris is now heavily odds-on to assume the position," Lee Phelps, spokesperson for U.K. bookmaker William Hill said in a statement to USA TODAY.
The party has coalesced around the vice president, making her the prohibitive favorite for the Democratic nomination across multiple books.
The betting market, which bookmakers can't legally take action on in the U.S., still has Trump as the favorite in the general election though his odds have lengthened from where they were after the assassination attempt on him.
William Hill and fellow U.K. bookmaker Bet 365 both have the race handicapped at -200 for Trump and +200 for Harris in the first full day of business after Biden's decision was announced just after 6:45 p.m. on the British isle.
Harris drew slightly closer in the odds overnight at two of the three offshore bookmakers USA TODAY has regularly surveyed.
Harris' odds in the general election market stand significantly shorter on her first day as the central figure of the Democratic campaign than President Biden's, which were as high as +450 in the aftermath of the presidential debate that began the calls for Biden to step aside.
Here are the odds in the 2024 U.S. presidential election as of July 22.
Presidential election betting odds
William Hill
Donald Trump: -200
Kamala Harris: +200
Bet 365
Donald Trump: -200
Kamala Harris: +200
Bovada
Donald Trump: -215
Kamala Harris: +190
BetOnline
Donald Trump: -200
Kamala Harris: +185
Oddschecker
Donald Trump: -164
Kamala Harris: +275
How accurate have betting odds been in past Presidential elections?
The betting favorite has only lost twice since 1866, according to the Conversation.
The two upsets came in 1948, when Harry Truman (D) beat eight to one odds to defeat Thomas Dewey (R), and in 2016, when Trump overcame seven to two odds to beat Hillary Clinton (D).
Biden was the betting favorite in the 2020 race, holding the pole position with Oddscheker from May through November.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 2024 general election odds take shape with Harris, Trump as candidates
