Updated Vice Presidential Odds After Michelle Obama FEC Filing

• A political action committee to raise awareness for Michelle Obama as a candidate for vice president filed with the FEC in April.
• Since mid-March, Obama’s odds of earning a VP nod have shortened from +1600 to +700.
• Former presidential candidates Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar and Elizabeth Warren remain the three favorites to earn the nomination.

WASHINGTON – A new political action committee (PAC) has formed with the goal of encouraging Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, to choose former first lady Michelle Obama as his vice president.

The PAC filed with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) on April 26, although it is unaffiliated with both the Biden campaign and Obama herself.

According to Clyde Lederman, a spokesperson for the committee and a former staff member on Mike Gravel’s presidential campaign, the group’s goal is to “build substantial grassroots support for a potential Michelle Obama candidacy and help garner Media attention [for her candidacy].”

The group has already begun releasing targeted digital and social media ads to raise awareness and support for Obama.

Joe Biden has indicated in the past that he would nominate Obama as his VP “in a heartbeat,” but expressed doubt that she has any wish to live in the White House again.

Lederman told reporters from ABC that although the PAC’s focus remains on Obama, it will pivot to support the eventual nominee no matter who it is.

Obama’s vice-presidential betting odds have noticeably shortened since the PAC filed with the FEC. While it is a very grassroots group, it could have a sizable impact on political betting odds for the 2020 election cycle.

Updated Vice President Betting Odds After FEC Filing

Back in mid-March, right after Biden had taken comfortable control of the Democratic primary, Obama was only a blip on the VP radar.

At the time, her odds vice-presidential odds were tied for the sixth shortest at +1600.

Since then, it has come out that Barack Obama played a big role in helping Biden’s campaign mount a huge comeback against challenger Bernie Sanders on Super Tuesday.

This could indicate that the Obama family isn’t quite done with political life just yet.

Betting odds on the Democratic vice-presidential nominee can be very volatile, but Obama is one of the few candidates for the job to see her odds grow consistently shorter.

Those odds remain considerably longer than three other women who ran large campaigns for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, but Biden himself was a massive underdog in the primary at one point.

Other candidates have experienced momentary surges, but Obama seems to have steady momentum. Given her popularity and experience, Obama would be a strong bet to earn the VP bid, except that there’s no guarantee she wants to be considered for the job.

Would Michelle Obama Want To Return To The White House?

On paper, a Michelle Obama VP nomination would be a slam dunk, but before that can happen, she has to approve the idea herself, not just the  legal sports betting sites.

Obama has not completely ruled out the possibility of running but in the past, she has expressed disinterest in returning her family to the intense public scrutiny of life in the White House.

Michelle Obama enjoys widespread popularity among Democratic voters, even among many progressive groups who didn’t approve of her husband’s time in office. With concerns mounting about the viability of Biden’s campaign, Democratic groups will likely do everything they can to court Obama’s candidacy.

Even then, there’s no guarantee she would accept. She wrote a bestselling book in 2018 and has maintained a heavy public presence since leaving the White House in 2016, but there is a big difference between life as a celebrity and life in the White House.

News tags: ABC News | Amy Klobuchar | Barack Obama | Clyde Lederman | Democratic Party | Democrats | Elizabeth Warren | FEC | Federal Election Commission | Joe Biden | Kamala Harris | Michelle Obama | PAC | Political Action Committee | The Committee to Draft Michelle Obama | White House