The 2024 US presidential election is less than a week old, and the president-elect, Donald Trump, will not take office until January. However, top-rated sportsbooks have already posted the betting choices for 2028, and some of the names might surprise you.
The Early Contenders
U.S. licensed sportsbooks are not allowed to take political bets. However, a recent court ruling has allowed trading platforms like Polymarket, Robinhood, and Kalshi to offer contracts on U.S. presidential elections. And it was through those portals that billions were wagered, and all of them revealed Donald Trump was the candidate with the best chance of winning the election over Kamala Harris.
And now that Donald Trump has officially reclaimed the White House, the oddsmakers are taking an early crack at the 2028 US presidential election. And no, you won’t find Donald Trump’s name appearing anytime soon, as he is constitutionally required to step down due to this being his second term in office.
Below we will list the top five favorites, according to the oddsmakers, to ascend to the nation’s highest office in four years.
JD Vance (+300)
It should come as no surprise that the vice president-elect is the odds-on favorite to capture the presidency. His boss will be walking into the sunset at the end of his upcoming term, and as long as his last tenure in the Oval Office was considered a success, at least to his constituents, then Vance would be the likely choice to succeed Donald J. Trump.
Michelle Obama (+500)
Michelle Obama is the darling of the left, and if they had their druthers, it would have been her and not Kamala running against Trump. And although she has dazzling appeal among Democrats and women in general, she has routinely expressed her lack of interest in running for elected office.
Speaking at a conference in Boston last April, Ms. Obama said, “The reason why I don’t want to run for president — and I can’t speak for Oprah [Winfrey] — but my sense is that, first of all, you have to want the job,” Obama said while referring to previous rumors that Oprah was going to run in 2020. She continued, “And you can’t just say, ‘Well, you’re a woman, run.’ We just can’t find the women we like and ask them to do it, because there are millions of women who are inclined and do have the passion for politics.
Gavin Newsom (+550)
California may have its fair share of problems, but its governor, Gavin Newsom, is nothing if not photogenic, and sometimes looking good is more important than being good. He is well-liked by the left and has garnered plenty of support by the powerbrokers in the party.
He would be in his early 60s in four years, which is still fairly young by presidential standards.
Ron DeSantis (+800)
The Florida governor was viewed as Trump’s biggest rival for the Republican nomination, but his campaign never caught fire, and his light dimmed earlier than anticipated. The Trump supporters were so inextricably tied to their candidate that trying to win them proved a task too tall for the popular DeSantis.
Unfortunately, he will likely have to cede to his fellow Republicans’ demands for party unity and support Vance rather than oppose him, assuming the vice president-elect doesn’t implode while in office.
Tulsi Gabbard (+1000)
The former Democrat US Congresswoman from Hawaii would be a formidable opponent for any opposing party member as she has a moderate appeal to centrists on both sides of the aisle.
After changing her party affiliation to Independent in 2022, she made the full switch to the Republican party in 2024 and was an important cog in Donald Trump’s presidential campaign. But like DeSantis, JD Vance would have to have a catastrophic term in office for his party to look elsewhere in 2028.
