• Democratic Nominee Standings
• Bet On Democratic Nominee
• 2016 Democratic Nominees

The calendar just flipped to 2019, so you know what that means: We are less than 2 years away from another presidential election. While it may feel as though the build-up to the 2016 election was only yesterday, I regret to inform you that it is about time to ramp things up and start the merry-go-round all over again.

The individual identified in the question shall win the 2020 nomination of the Democratic Party for U.S. Replacement of the nominee for any reason prior to election day will have no impact on the. Democratic Nominee. Republican Nominee. Matched: USD 4,179. You can choose to show Betfair Starting Price (SP) options. Bets placed at SP are settled at Betfair's starting. If you’re using a betting operator based in the US, you won’t find Democratic nominee betting odds or any US political odds. That’s because American betting providers are not allowed to take bets on US politics by law. So, if you live in the United States, you’ll have to use an offshore operator if you want to bet. BetOnline puts Sanders as the favorite to win in North Carolina at -150. Nationally, Sanders is leading the odds to take the Democratic nomination for president, according to Real Clear Politics.

The 2016 election was ugly. Noted television star Donald Trump came out of nowhere to lay waste to the Republican field of candidates on his way to earning the party’s nomination in shocking fashion.

Pundits literally laughed off Trump’s chances of eventually becoming president, but he used his populist message effectively enough to turn a few blue states red on election night. In the end, that was enough for him to dispose of Hillary Clinton and become the 45th President of the United States.

So, here we are. Trump’s first term is about to hit the 2-year mark, and he has already been putting together a campaign with an eye toward reelection in 2020.

Democratic Nominee Election Odds. Betting on the Democratic Nominee is a very common practice among sports bettors. Every four years around election time sports bettors take into account the polls as well as voting results and social issues to affirm which candidate.

There have been murmurs regarding potential presidential opposition from within his own party, but anyone other than Trump becoming the Republican nominee next year would be a pretty massive surprise at this point.

Considering how divisive Trump’s time in office has been, the field of 2020 presidential nominees on the Democratic side was always going to be a large one.

The Democrats successfully flipped the House of Representatives in their favor with a “blue wave” win in the 2018 midterms, and the party is optimistic at their chances of regaining control of the White House next time around.

Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren has not officially declared her candidacy, but she has put together a group with plans to “explore” a run. The Senator has already visited the key state of Iowa, and you can bet it won’t be long until she turns up in New Hampshire.

Former Vice President Joe Biden is also reportedly seriously considering a run, as is Vermont Senator and 2016 Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders.

You can bet on anything through GamblingSites.org these days, and politics are no exception. MyBookie has betting odds posted regarding who will win the Democratic party’s nomination for the ‘20 election.

As you may expect, there are tons of names on the list. Let’s dive into some of the potential favorites and try to identify some profitable betting value, shall we?

Odds to Win Democratic Presidential Nomination

• Kamala Harris +500
• Beto O’Rourke +600
• Elizabeth Warren +800
• Joe Biden +1000
• Bernie Sanders +1000
• Kirsten Gillibrand +1600
• Cory Booker +1600
• Michael Bloomberg +1600
• Tulsi Gabbard +1600
• Amy Klobuchar +2000
• Sherrod Brown +2000
• Oprah Winfrey +2500
• John Hickenlooper +3300
• Eric Garcetti +3300
• Michelle Obama +3300
• Hillary Clinton +3300
• Michael Avenatti +3300
• Howard Schultz +5000
• Tom Steyer +5000
• Gavin Newsom +5000
• Joe Kennedy III +5000
• John Kerry +5000
• Julian Castro +5000

There are more names listed, but you get the idea. It’s highly unlikely all of the folks listed above throw their names into the ring, but we have at least heard rumors regarding potential runs from all of them. A couple of names I’m happy to cross off the list immediately are Hillary Clinton and Michael Avenatti.

Clinton would be insane to run again, and the Democratic Party would be committing party suicide by nominating her again. She proved to be an ineffective foil to Trump, and she’s already had her chance. A new candidate is needed if the Democrats are serious about beating Trump. So, pass on Clinton at +3300.

Another name to cross off is Michael Avenatti. Avenatti gained fame as the attorney to adult film star Stormy Daniels, who allegedly had an affair with Trump. Avenatti routinely made the rounds on cable news promoting Daniels’ case, but late last year he was arrested on domestic violence charges.

Avenatti was already a divisive character to begin with, and he often drew comparisons to Trump considering his brash temperament. I think it’s safe to say we won’t be hearing too much about Avenatti once candidates start announcing their runs as the year progresses, so pass on him at +3300, too.

Tulsi Gabbard and Amy Klobuchar are popular names among progressives, but neither has really gone public regarding any desire to make a run for the Oval Office. That could always change over the next few months, but I’m going to go ahead and write off Gabbard and Klobuchar as betting options, too.

Celebrity Row

I didn’t bother to list them all above, but people like Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Al Franken, Mark Zuckerberg, Mark Cuban and George Clooney are also listed as potential 2020 candidates.

Trump proved in 2016 that experience in politics isn’t exactly a requirement when it comes to running for the highest office in the land, but there are enough red flags with most of these other celebrities to where I seriously doubt any of them will make a serious bid.

Zuckerberg, the founder and CEO of Facebook, has been enduring a public relations nightmare since the 2016 election for his company’s participation in “fake news.” Zuckerberg has remained defiant, but his reputation has taken too much of a hit for him to be considered as a realistic candidate.

The same can be said of Cuban, the billionaire owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks. Cuban has remained outspoken regarding political matters, but the Mavericks’ organization was just embroiled in a high-profile sexual harassment controversy.

Cuban claims to have known nothing about the rampant abuse that was going on in the team’s workplace, but that’s still something that could easily kill any potential candidacy. Cuban has toyed with a run in the past, but at this point it’s hard to imagine it coming to fruition. At least this time around.

Al Franken was forced to resign from the Senate amid his own sexual harassment allegations. He would have been a popular choice for 2020 among Democrats had that not occurred, but the Democrats would be wise to put forth a nominee without that kind of baggage.

While Franken, who used to work as a writer for Saturday Night Live, would be an entertaining opponent for Trump, it’s not happening.

Harris the Frontrunner

Interestingly enough, MyBookie has California Senator Kamala Harris as the early betting favorite (+500) to win the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination next year. Harris has not yet officially announced her candidacy, but all indications suggest that she is giving it serious consideration.

Harris is considering “a collection of factors” when pondering a 2020 run. Her status as an African-American woman would obviously immediately set Harris apart from Trump, and those are definitely traits that could help her separate herself from the field of Democrats, too.

A recent poll asked women of color involved in politics to rank their top-3 2020 contenders, and Harris appeared on a whopping 71 percent of the ballots. Harris previously served as California’s attorney general before joining the U.S. Senate, and she has already advocated for Medicare-for-all, free college and criminal justice reform.

Harris sounds like a candidate willing to push for left-leaning policies progressive voters support, so it’s hard not to like her chances here.

You won’t often get the favorite at such favorable odds, so I’d be all over betting on Harris here.

Establishment Biden

Biden reportedly considered running in 2016, but the death of his son, Beau, complicated matters. Biden took time away to mourn rather than diving into a heated presidential race. The former VP has since said that he regrets not running in ‘16, but he is reportedly leaning toward giving it another go this time around.

Did Biden miss his chance? It’s certainly possible. The 2020 field is going to be far deeper on the Democratic side than the 2016 field was, as most got out of the way for Clinton 2-plus years ago. Biden’s popularity was never going to be higher than it was when he left office, so it’s fair to wonder whether he’ll be able to recapture that kind of enthusiasm now that he’s been out of the spotlight for over 2 years.

If Biden jumps in, he is expected to be the frontrunner. Obviously, that’s a dangerous place to be. Let’s not forget that Jeb Bush was the Republican frontrunner in 2016 before he got absolutely blown out of the water by Trump. If Biden decides to throw his hat into the ring, other candidates will be gunning for him.

With the Democratic party leaning more and more left, I’m not sure a centrist candidate like Biden will be able to survive. He’ll still get plenty of support as a recognizable face from the previous administration, but I’m getting the feeling Biden will eventually get overtaken by a number of other candidates.

Warren & Sanders

Bernie Sanders was ultimately beaten by Hillary Clinton in 2016, but the self-proclaimed Democratic Socialist from Vermont made his presence felt before bowing out. Sanders’ grassroots campaign refused to take money from political action committees (PACs) and his healthcare-for-all campaign promise eventually forced Clinton to move a bit more left, policy-wise.

A number of candidates have since embraced Sanders’ ideas, which makes him a less unique candidate than he was in 2016. Let’s not forget that Sanders is already 77.

Trump was the oldest president to ever take office at 70 when he did so in January of 2017. Like it or not, age is something voters have to consider. Sanders is vibrant, but the fact that he will be pushing 80 by the time he would take office would be a concern to plenty. This is something Biden would have to contend with, too.

It sounds as though Sanders is willing to give the White House another run in 2020, which will be fascinating. Sanders’ loss to Clinton in 2016 was controversial, but I think he’s going to have a more difficult time separating himself from a more crowded field in the upcoming election.

Bernie will still get plenty of support, but he may lag behind more youthful candidates like Kamala Harris or Beto O’Rourke.

Warren is similar to Sanders in that she’s a progressive that is getting up there in age. She was a popular anti-Trump voice in 2016, but the public opinion on her may have changed since.

Warren made the questionable decision to release the results of a DNA test claiming evidence of her Native American heritage late last year. That move drew a collective eye-roll from the masses, and it’s something she’s going to have to continue to defend moving forward.

Warren definitely has a chance, though, and I like her odds of winning the nomination slightly more than Sanders’. The fact that she’s a woman can’t hurt, either.

Beto Looming

A year ago at this time, not many people were aware of Beto O’Rourke. O’Rourke was a member of the House of Representatives representing El Paso, Texas, before he ultimately decided to challenge incumbent Texas Senator Ted Cruz for his seat this past fall.

O’Rourke gained national fame after running an aggressive campaign all over the state before ultimately falling at the hands of Cruz by a slim margin in November.

O’Rourke’s loss to Cruz wasn’t a total surprise considering the fact that Texas has long been a red state. The demographics are starting to shift, but O’Rourke was ultimately unable to garner enough support. Some believe he will challenge Texas’ other Senator, John Cornyn, when he’s up for reelection in a few years, but could O’Rourke have his eye on a bigger goal?

O’Rourke has drawn plenty of comparisons to Barack Obama for his youthful exuberance and his speech pattern. O’Rourke managed to raise a whopping $60 million for his Senate campaign, but he’s going to have to put forth firm policy ideas if he has serious aspirations of separating himself from the rest of the Democratic field in 2020.

O’Rourke’s voting record during his time of Congress has been the subject of some scrutiny, and whether he’s left-leaning enough to represent the Democratic Party on a national scale remains to be seen. He touted himself as a Texas liberal, but is he liberal enough to galvanize voters from all over the country?

If he runs, O’Rourke will skyrocket toward the list of frontrunners, so I think it would be downright reckless to write off his chances here. He’s the second-favorite right behind Harris from a betting perspective, so I have no problem betting on Beto to eventually earn the Democratic nomination.

Any prospective Democratic candidate is going to have to move a bit to the left if they want to win this nomination. I think Beto is still green enough in the world of politics to where he can be somewhat malleable from a policy perspective. Even someone like Barack Obama eventually came around on issues like same-sex marriage after pressure from within his own party.

Conclusion

How the 2020 field of presidential nominees shakes out is sure to be fascinating. Some are already prepared to give the White House a run, while a host of others are sure to follow suit. Will some billionaires look to follow in Trump’s footsteps? Oprah, Tom Steyer and Michael Bloomberg have been linked with runs already.

I don’t think any of the 3 stands much of a chance, but if some of them do wind up running it will be interesting to see how they play with the Democratic base of voters.

Steyer has been airing television ads for the last several years calling for Trump’s impeachment.

Bloomberg was formerly the mayor of New York City, while you know Oprah’s deal by now. Winfrey has rebuffed any ideas regarding a serious run, while Bloomberg and Steyer sound like more serious candidates. Bloomberg stands the best chance to actually win, but I think he would still be a fringe contender at best at +1600.

Could a new candidate show up and throw things for a loop? Absolutely. Few knew who Bernie Sanders was at this time 4 years ago, and now he’s a household name in American politics. We haven’t heard the last of Bernie, of course. I expect him to run, and I think his chief challengers will eventually be Harris, Warren, O’Rourke and Biden.

That core of 5 looks to be leading the way. If you’re betting, I think the smart money is on Kamala Harris at +500. Beto O’Rourke would be the next-most likely candidate at +600, while I like Warren (+800) slightly over Sanders (+1000). I think Biden (+1000) will be the odd-man out, and I would be somewhat shocked if he is the one that eventually earns the nod as nominee.

That said, an awful lot is going to happen between now and the Democratic National Convention in the summer of 2020. The race for the White House is about to heat up, so I’d jump on betting values like Harris and O’Rourke while you can still get them with solid profit potential.

I’ll rank the likely 2020 Democratic presidential nominees as follows:

1. Kamala Harris +500
2. Beto O’Rourke +600
3. Elizabeth Warren +800
4. Bernie Sanders +1000
5. Joe Biden +1000

There’s no better time to be a political betting fan than during the party primaries leading up to an election year. During this process, handicappers are treated to 50 individual contests, one for each state—all available to bet—which culminate in a Democratic presidential candidate being nominated at the national convention.

Depending on the year, the field of competitors can range anywhere from two main candidates (like in 2016) to twenty, as was the case early in the 2020 primaries. Political handicappers watch the various debates, poll numbers, and media happenings, tracking who has the best odds of winning the nomination overall, as well as who has the edge in the next state or handful of states.

Best Sites for Betting on the Democratic Nominee

The US democratic primary betting sites above have been reviewed for a wide range of crucial factors, including safety, history/reputation, variety of wagers, bonuses, and website quality. Of all the online sportsbooks to pass our vetting process, these were found to be the very best political betting sites available.

If you’re going to be betting on the Democratic Party elections, we advise you open accounts at several of the top sportsbooks. Democratic betting odds can differ significantly from website to website, especially during the busier weeks in the race, like Super Tuesday, for example.

Once you’ve made your predictions, you’ll want to find the political betting site offering the best odds for that candidate, so you’re always maximizing the value of your wagers!

Betting Democratic Contests

What makes the primary season so thrilling for liberal betting handicappers is the high volume of events available. Each of America’s 50 states holds an individual inter-party contest to nominate their specific pick to become the party’s presidential nominee. Each of the states has a unique set of rules and voting processes. They’re divided into two main categories of voting: primaries and caucuses.

State Primary

State primaries are a standard electoral event in which voters cast ballots for the candidates they’d like to see nominated to represent the Democratic Party. When betting on US Democratic primaries, pay close attention to the types of voting machines a state uses, and whether the state party representatives keep a transparent paper trail. Politics is a dirty game, so you always have to pay attention to potential interference and security issues.

Caucuses

A caucus is different from a primary, as the voters do not cast ballots. Instead, they meet in designated precincts to discuss and show their support for preferred candidates. Each precinct is its own mini competition. Caucuses are much less precise than primaries and more susceptible to controversial results. In 2020, there are far fewer caucuses than before. After 2016, eight states changed from caucuses to primary systems, with only Iowa, Nevada, and Wyoming still caucusing.

DNC Nomination Futures Wagers

You can also bet on the eventual Democrat nominee at any time during the primary process. The overall 50-state competition for the nomination is called a “primary,” same as the “primaries” held by most individual states. So, for example, some caucuses are part of the primary process. (A little confusing, we know!)

Many sites that offer odds for betting politics will post their DNC nomination numbers over a year prior to the election year, setting lines for a large field of possible candidates. Online sportsbooks will often include multiple novelty picks, such as Oprah Winfrey, Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson, and Mark Cuban.

As the primary progresses, the markets sharpen at US Democratic election betting sites, and the field of top-tier candidates becomes clearer. With each primary/caucus outcome, day of news cycles, and new poll results, the posted lines continually update to reflect the latest data. Thus, timing your DNC primary election futures bets for maximum value is just as crucial as picking the right candidate!

Bet on Democratic Primary Debates

Throughout the process of selecting the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee, the candidates will traditionally meet in a series of public debates. Sometimes, these debates will cover a specific topic, while in others, they’re left open to a broad range of issues.

At some events, between one and four moderators will ask the questions and officiate speaking times. In other instances, the DNC will organize “town hall” style debates, in which members of the audience are given a chance to direct questions directly at their candidates of choice.

Watching the Democratic debates is an essential part of handicapping political primaries. How candidates are perceived on stage often dictate how enthusiastically supporters donate money to the campaigns and can have a significant effect on poll numbers. Pay attention to how well each participant answers the questions as well as how they come across on television. Sometimes, it’s not what they say, but how they say it, that matters most.

A fantastic debate performance can’t turn any old candidate into a frontrunner, but a disastrous showing can quickly tank even the most promising campaigns. More than anything, you want to bet on Democrat candidates who are less likely to suffer massive humiliations that will haunt them the rest of the primaries on live TV.

2020 Democratic Primary Debates

For the 2020 presidential election, the Democratic Party scheduled 12 DNC-sanctioned debates, beginning in June 2019. Six debates took place in 2019, with the remaining six reserved for the first four months of 2020.

This includes one scheduled in each of the four earliest primary states, Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina, all within a week of the upcoming contest in that same location. Almost two weeks after Super Tuesday (March 3, when 16 states and territories hold their primaries simultaneously), the remaining candidates will meet on stage again, in Arizona. The twelfth, and final debate has not yet been scheduled at the time of writing this guide on US Democratic election betting sites.

Democratic National Convention Betting Opportunities

• When: July 13-16, 2020
• Where: Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Democratic Nominee Standings

Choosing a Nominee

Following the 50 state-level contests, the remaining candidates arrive at the Democratic convention in July to plead their cases for the nomination. Each state awards a set number of pledged delegates, which are proportionately allocated to the candidates that finish with 15% or more of the votes.

For example, in New Hampshire, Bernie Sanders came in first place, with roughly 3,500 more votes than Buttigieg in second. Amy Klobuchar received 19% of the vote to come in third. Sanders and Buttigieg both won nine pledged delegates, while Klobuchar earned six. So, as you can see, a candidate can technically “lose” a primary and still gain an equal number of these crucial pledged delegates.

Superdelegates and Pledged Delegates

At the Democratic National Convention, a candidate needs 1,991 or more pledged delegates to secure the party nomination on the first ballot. For 2020, a new rule was enacted barring superdelegates, high-ranking party insiders and donors, from the initial vote. This was changed after 2016, when the superdelegates, who were all pledged to Clinton before the race began, appeared to cancel out the voters’ choices.

However, if nobody secures the 1,991 pledged delegates on the first ballot, the 500 to 700 superdelegates will be allowed to cast votes. Additionally, every previously pledged delegate becomes unpledged for each subsequent round of voting. It doesn’t matter to whom they originally belonged.

If the nomination requires more than one round of voting on the convention floor, that’s called a “contested” or “brokered” convention. Between the extended field of candidates and new rules allocating delegates proportionately (instead of “winner takes all” like before), the 2020 convention has a high likelihood of being contested.

2020 Democratic Debate Participants

• Joe Biden
• Bernie Sanders
• Elizabeth Warren
• Pete Buttigieg
• Amy Klobuchar
• Tulsi Gabbard
• Michael Bloomberg
• Beto O’Rourke
• Tom Steyer
• Andrew Yang
• Kamala Harris
• Cory Booker
• Julian Castro
• Marianne Williamson
• Michael Bennet
• Bill de Blasio
• John Delaney
• Tim Ryan
• Kirsten Gillibrand
• John Hickenlooper
• Eric Swalwell

Finding Value in Democratic Primary Betting Odds

For the most up-to-date news, information, and strategies related to US democratic election betting, check out our latest political wagering blog posts. They’ll break down specific results and upcoming contests, as well as share expert opinions and predictions for both individual primaries or caucuses along the way and DNC nomination futures odds.

In this section, we’ll go over some basic Democrat betting concepts to consider when handicapping the 2020 democratic primary elections. Wagering on politics hasn’t been popular in the United States for very long, but since 2016, we’ve learned quite a bit about how to accurately predict election results.

Example of Political Odds:

• 2020 Democratic CandidateOdds
• Joe Biden -140
• Bernie Sanders +175
• Michael Bloomberg +1600
• Hillary Clinton +3000
• Elizabeth Warren +5000
• Michelle Obama +8000
• Tulsi Gabbard +50000

Always Think About Betting Value

Whether you place a bet on politics or sports, a successful handicapper always has their mind on finding value. To make a profit over the long term, you have to look further than your surface-level predictions.

Positive betting value exists when the implied probability of the odds is exceeded by the real-life likelihood of an outcome taking place. For example, a -200 favorite has an implied probability of 66.67%. Another way to think of that is at those odds; you’d need to win the payout 66.67% of the time to break even.

So, if a Democratic candidate is listed at -200 to win the South Carolina primary, for example, but you’ve determined there’s a 70% chance they’ll emerge victoriously, that bet has value! If you like a candidate’s odds in a given race, but their line makes the payout not worth the risk, stay away. It doesn’t matter how sure you are that the favorite will win.

Follow Poll Numbers, but Don’t Overvalue Them

Poll numbers can be an extremely helpful tool throughout the primaries process. Assuming you primarily follow the more prominent, trustworthy pollsters, these updates can grant insight into which topics and issues are resonating most with voters. You can also track which candidates are surging and which are on the decline.

Many polls even break down each candidate’s support with individual demographics of people, including by age, race, economic class, and more. This data will also be useful in helping to predict how Democratic primary contenders will perform in upcoming contests.

However, you don’t want to lean on the poll numbers too heavily. That’s the mistake so many pundits and political bettors made in 2016. Sometimes, polls possess inherent biases. Many of these surveys are conducted over the phone, for example. Older voters are much more likely to answer a call from an unknown number and participate in a poll than younger citizens.

There have also been instances of pollsters going out of their way to collect data that supports their personal desires. In 2016, many of the top Democratic-leaning media outlets continuously oversold Hillary Clinton’s likelihood of winning. They routinely posted misleading poll numbers, while the crowd sizes at both candidates’ campaign rallies told a different story.

So, follow the polls to get a feel for the general “rhythms” of the Democratic primaries over time, but don’t let them exclusively dictate your Democrat betting decisions.

Bet On Democratic Nominee

Read Competing News Sources

2016 Democratic Nominees

These days, it’s too easy to get stuck in a bubble where one only sees the news that agrees with their worldview. Liberal media constantly attacks and blames conservatives for everything wrong in this country, while simultaneously ignoring the criticisms of Democrats, while Fox News and right-wing outlets do the exact opposite.

As a result, there are precious few news sources attempting to report objective facts. This is unfortunate because, when placing a bet on politics, the objective truth of what’s going to happen is all that matters.

Until you find a handful of objective journalists, like our political betting experts at The Sports Geek, at least make sure you’re collecting information from a variety of sources. If you’ve read three CNN/MSNBC articles, mix in a few Fox News or Breitbart pieces to see what the other side is saying.

Remember, your personal political leanings do not matter, nor does your opinion regarding which party is correct. All that matters is predicting how the competing messages will be met by the American electorate and who will win their races.

Be a Student of History

“History repeats itself,” as the old phrase goes. When betting Democratic elections, you’d be shocked by how much valuable knowledge can be gleaned from prior election cycles. The 2020 primary, for example, closely resembles the 1972 race. Bernie Sanders fits the description of a modern-day George McGovern and Joe Biden’s troubled campaign is reminiscent of Ed Muskie. Donald Trump would be Richard Nixon, the first of only three presidents ever to have been impeached, with Trump being the third after Bill Clinton.

The similarities won’t always be so obvious, but there’s still plenty to learn. When there’s a small field, what kind of candidate benefits? What effect does a larger field of options have on strong grassroots movements? In this case, a larger, more divided field, gives more progressive “outsider” campaigns an advantage since the moderates are split amongst several similar politicians.

2020 Democratic Primary Candidates

Bernie Sanders

At the time of writing, Democrat Socialist Bernie Sanders—a senator from Vermont—is the favorite to win the 2020 nomination. Sanders went head-to-head with Hillary Clinton in 2016, where he built the powerful progressive movement that powers his candidacy today. Many in the leadership and donor ranks of the DNC do not like Bernie, nor do they see him as a “true” Democrat. Because of this, he’s often met with resistance from liberal media outlets and party officials alike.

Joe Biden

Joe Biden spent several decades in Congress and served as Barack Obama’s Vice President from 2008 to 2016. For months, before the first Iowa caucus, the former VP polled as the national favorite to win the Democratic nomination. However, his status amongst the field proved overblown once the real contests began. He’s relying on a first-place finish in South Carolina to remain viable.