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Ohio Senator J.D. Vance is considered the favorite to be named Donald Trump's next running mate, according to bookmakers.
Vance, who has long been considered among the frontrunners for Trump's next potential vice president, is now listed as the favorite candidate across several U.K.-based bookmakers, according to Oddschecker.
The MAGA senator has overtaken North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum as Oddchecker's leading candidate for Trump's 2024 running mate. Burgum was considered the favorite after he appeared with Trump at a rally in New Jersey in May.
"Over the past 24 hours, we've seen J.D. Vance become the betting favorite on Oddschecker in the race to become Donald Trump's vice president," Oddschecker spokesperson Leon Blackman told Newsweek.
"Having previously been odds of 5/2 earlier this week, U.K. bookmakers have cut his odds, and he has usurped Doug Burgum at the top of the market. In the last 24 hours, Vance is the most popular pick on Oddschecker to be Trump's VP, taking 18 percent of all bets placed."
Florida Senator Marco Rubio is listed as the third favorite to be named Trump's next running mate. There was speculation that Rubio could be announced as Trump's pick during a recent rally in Doral, which is close to Rubio's hometown.
The suggestion that Vance is now the favorite to be Trump's choice of 2024 running mate arrived after reports the former president's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., will speak before his father's vice presidential pick at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on July 17.
Trump Jr. is a keen advocate of Vance, with Axios suggesting the former president's son's appearance just before the next GOP running mate is a sign Trump has "zeroed in" on Vance as his next running mate.
However, Brian Hughes, a Trump campaign senior adviser, has downplayed suggestions Vance is set to be included on the Republican 2024 ticket.
"As President Trump has said himself, the top criteria in selecting a vice president is a strong leader who could make a great president," Hughes told Axios.
"But anyone telling you they know who or when President Trump will choose his VP is lying unless that person is named Donald J. Trump."
Trump's and Vance's offices have been contacted for comment via email.
Vance, author of Hillbilly Elegy, went from political novice to Ohio senator in no small part due to an endorsement from Trump in 2022.
Despite previously being a "never-Trump guy" in 2016, Vance has become one of the most staunch defenders of the former president in Congress, and a keen supporter of his America First agenda.
Vance previously admitted it would be a "disappointment" if he was not asked to be Trump's running mate.
"I'm human, right?" Vance told Fox News in June. "And so, when you know this thing is a possibility, if it doesn't happen, there is certainly going to be a little bit of disappointment."
"They'll ask me if they ask me, and if they don't, that's fine," he added.
Trump was forced to seek a new running mate after his relationship with former Vice President Mike Pence fell apart in the wake of the January 6 attack.
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About the writer
Ewan Palmer is a Newsweek News Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on US politics, and Florida ... Read more