Kanye West has officially announced that he is running for President of the United States in 2020. West made his announcement on Twitter on July 4 and plans on taking over the White House from President Donald Trump.
This is not the first time that West has hinted at running for President, but his announcement on Saturday night made it official. Oddsmakers have listed West as a Presidential candidate on their books, but West was never really considered a real threat.
West immediately received support from some powerful businessmen, and he included the hashtag, “2020Vision,” in his tweet. Elon Musk was the first notable man to offer his support to West, and he was followed up by Mark Cuban.
There are still plenty of things that will have to fall in place for West to get his name on the ballot, and he will be running as an independent candidate. Several states have already passed the deadline to enter the Presidential race, which will leave West with an uphill battle.
Political betting exchange sites have included Kanye West in some odds in the past. The site, PredictIt, simply asks the question, “Will Kanye West run for President in 2020?” Shares that are marked as “yes” are now being traded at 34 cents, but the price went up just two cents with the tweet on July 4.
Joe Biden leads the presidential race at PredictIt with his shares being traded at 61 cents. Shares for President Trump are trading at just 42 cents, but he is still considered to be in second place.
The 2020 Presidential race is heating up, and it is expected to be a tight race. The 2020 election will take place with many mail-in ballots, which has President Trump concerned that voting fraud will take place.
Odds in UK Getting Better
Sportsbooks in the United States are not able to offer political betting odds, but that isn’t the case in the UK. Some states have explored the idea of legalizing political betting, but no states will have anything regulated by the 2020 election.
High Street betting shops in the UK immediately slashed the odds for West with his announcement on Saturday night. His odds of winning the Presidential race were at 500/1, but they dropped down to 50/1 with his official announcement.
Oddschecker came out with a report and noted that 61 percent of all Presidential election bets have been placed on West since the tweet was published. Twenty-five percent of the bets have been placed on Trump as West will likely be stealing votes away from Biden.
Political betting is extremely popular overseas, and betting sites see huge action for the US Presidential race every four years.
Political Experts Say It’s Impossible
Even though the odds for West continue to improve, political experts think it would be impossible for him to win the race. West announced his candidacy too late to be listed as an independent candidate in six states.
The six states on this list include Texas, Indiana, New Mexico, New York, Maine, and North Carolina. These six states make up 102 electoral votes, and it requires 270 votes to win the race. West won’t be able to win enough of the other states to make up for this loss.
Other states have deadlines that are quickly approaching as well, and West would have to get his name on the ballots in a hurry. Most political experts believe that West will withdraw from the race by the end of the summer, leaving voters with just two real options.
