What are the real odds of a Hick presidency? Better than Kim Kardashian’s
For what it’s worth just months after Nov. 8’s day of reckoning, go-to online sports book Bovada has posted the latest odds for a wide range of prospective and, in some cases, purely hypothetical presidential contenders in the 2020 race. And our very own Gov. John Hickenlooper – yes, here we go again – comes in at 125:1.
For those of us not all that adept at betting (or at probability and statistics), read that as odds against. Put another way, Hick has roughly a .8 percent chance of becoming the 46th president in 2020. That’s eight-tenths of 1 percent. Or so Bovada handicaps it.
OK, so that’s just an abstract ratio, but how does it rank among the other presumed prospects? He’s a good way down the list.
As expected, there are plenty of prominent pols who do much better. Widely touted Massachusetts Democratic U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren gets odds of 8:1, which translates to about an 11 percent probability of sitting in the Oval Office. That beats the 18:1 odds against Hillary Clinton winning another White House bid. Clinton also trails former First Lady Michelle Obama, rated at 14:1. Vice President Mike Pence is 9:1; Democratic U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont is 20:1; Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan is 25:1, and so forth.
By the way, only The Donald himself does better than Elizabeth Warren in Bovada’s standings: 2.25:1. That’s a 30 percent chance of re-election; read it and weep, or rejoice.
Now, here’s the fun part:
It isn’t just boring, blah-blah-blah politicians who are on the list. For example, it turns out Hick’s 125:1 odds are tied with those of George Clooney. And why not? Clooney dabbles in politics, and as we all know, he finally has settled down and started a family. And bookending HIck is another Hollywood A-lister, Kevin Spacey, also known to espouse a political view or two. Spacey’s odds: 155:1.
It gets even better. Professional wrestling impresario Vince McMahon and the inimitable Kim Kardashian are tied with last year’s Libertarian Party candidate for president, former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson. They’re all given odds of 550:1. That’s about two-tenths of 1 percent. So, there’s hope.