President Donald Trump, in office less than a week, is a lame duck — and that means Democrats and Republicans will waste no time positioning themselves to succeed him in 2028.
No candidate has officially declared their intentions to run for president, but with Trump unable to run again, barring a change to the U.S. Constitution, Vice President JD Vance is positioned to be the frontrunner to win the Republican nomination.
One survey showed Donald Trump Jr. as the leading GOP candidate, but he was behind selecting Vance as his father’s running mate and likely wouldn’t challenge his good friend.
“Oh, God,” Trump Jr. said. “No, no, no, don’t get me into trouble. Now we have to govern. We have to win, we have to fight. We have to get it done, we have to deliver on our promises.”
Sportsbooks and prediction markets are wasting no time looking at the possibilities. Here are the top candidates, as reported by Covers, which includes ex-Rep. Tulsi Gabbard and fired Fox host Tucker Carlson among the possible candidates:
- JD Vance (Republican): +250
- Gavin Newsom (Democrat): +1,000
- Josh Shapiro (Democrat): +1,000
- Pete Buttigieg (Democrat): +1,400
- Michelle Obama (Democrat): +1,600
- Gretchen Whitmer (Democrat): +1,600
- Vivek Ramaswamy (Republican): +1,600
- Donald Trump Jr. (Republican): +1,600
- Ron DeSantis (Republican): +2,000
- Tucker Carlson (Republican): +2,000
- Tulsi Gabbard (Republican): +2,000
- Kamala Harris (Democrat): +2,000
Here are the odds posted by BetMGM, as shared by Action Network, which lists Trump’s daughter, Ivanka Trump and Carlson:
- JD Vance (Republican): +275
- Gavin Newsom (Democrat): +650
- Josh Shapiro (Democrat): +800
- Michelle Obama (Democrat): +800
- Ron DeSantis (Republican): +1,000
- Pete Buttigieg (Democrat): +1,400
- Vivek Ramaswamy (Republican): +1,400
- Gretchen Whitmer (Democrat): +1,600
- Ivanka Trump (Republican): +2,000
- Marco Rubio (Republican): +2,000
- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (Democrat): +2,500
- Andy Beshear (Democrat): ++2,500
- Kristi Noem (Republican): +2,500
- Nikki Haley (Republican): +2,500
- Tucker Carlson (Republican): +2,500
Billions of dollars were wagered on Polymarket and Kalshi in the 2024 presidential election. Polymarket, which accurately predicted Trump’s victory is not offering the 2028 election yet, but bettors will be watching closely when that market launches to see who has the early lead.
All of the odds are listed here.
Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.
