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The odds on Ron DeSantis winning the 2024 presidential election have lengthened according to a leading bookmaker, following his chaotic campaign launch.
DeSantis formally announced his White House bid on Wednesday, during a conversation with Elon Musk on Twitter Spaces. However the event was dogged by technical difficulties, with garbled audio and the stream cutting out entirely at one point.
The Florida governor will now face off against Donald Trump for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, with polls showing the former president has built up a significant lead over his closest rival over the past few months. The winner is likely to face Joe Biden in November 2024, with the incumbent polling significantly ahead of other declared candidates for the Democratic nomination.
Betfair, a U.K.-based betting company, lengthened DeSantis's odds on securing the White House in 2024 to 11/2, from 5/1, immediately following Wednesday's Twitter Spaces stream.
Speaking to Newsweek, company spokesperson Sam Rosbottom said: "Ron DeSantis has announced his candidacy for the 2024 presidential election, but the odds suggest the Florida governor is facing an uphill battle to usurp Joe Biden.
"Odds on DeSantis to win the 2024 election have drifted to 11/2 from 5/1 since he announced his candidacy in an interview with Elon Musk.
"In fact, DeSantis is not even the favorite to be the Republican nominee, with Donald Trump 4/7 to go up against Biden for a second time."
Betfair is offering odds of 7/4 on Biden securing re-election in 2024, versus 14/5 on Trump securing a second White House term.
The bookies have Trump as the firm favorite for the Republican nomination, with odds of 4/7 against 14/5 for DeSantis.
In the Democratic race, Biden is overwhelmingly favored to win the party's 2024 nomination, on 2/5, with vaccine sceptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in second with 14/1.
The next top Democrats are California Governor Gavin Newsom and Michelle Obama, on 19/1 and 22/1 respectively, though neither has given any indication they plan to enter the race.
Newsweek has contacted the DeSantis campaign for comment via email.
During his campaign launch, DeSantis commented: "I am running for president of the United States to lead our great American comeback."
The governor went on to link the tech problems Twitter Spaces experienced with his campaign's popularity, stating: "We had a huge audience. It was the biggest they'd ever had. It did break the Twitter space. And so we're really excited with the enthusiasm, but ultimately it's about the future of our country."
Trump savaged the DeSantis campaign launch on his Truth Social website, posting: "Wow! The DeSanctus TWITTER launch is a DISASTER! His whole campaign will be a disaster."
About the writer
James Bickerton is a Newsweek U.S. News reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is on covering news and politics ... Read more