JD Vance and Doug Burgum Are In Dead Heat To Be Trump's VP As Marco Rubio Looms

Donald Trump told Fox News on Monday that he hopes to announce his vice presidential pick shortly before the Republican convention starting on July 15. Senior adviser for the Trump campaign Jason Miller called the list of options an "embarrassment of riches."

Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum are currently tied at +250 as the VP favorites, per the betting market at OddsChecker.

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla) is third at +900. There's a steep drop-off after that. Other notable lines include Ben Carson at +1600, Tim Scott at +1800, Glenn Youngkin at +2500, Tudor Dixon at +3300, and Nikki Haley at +3900.

Initial takeaway: Rubio should be closer to Vance and Burgum in terms of likelihood, on which odds are based. 

Rubio has been just as featured on the Sunday morning news shows campaigning for Trump as the other two, suggesting he believes his chances are better than a long shot. 

Rubio would, in theory, help Trump gain continued support among Hispanic voters. He would, however, have to move his residency outside of Florida due to constitutional restrictions barring presidential and vice presidential candidates from hailing from the same state.

Of the three, Burgum would presumably generate the least number of headlines as a running mate, which would behoove Trump as staying out of the news and letting Biden self-destruct is his clearest path to victory. 

That said, Vance is a fighter and could be a future face of the Republican Party. Here he is from Sunday on Meet the Press:

Imagine a VP debate between Vance and Kamala Harris…

On Monday, Trump confirmed to Sean Hannity that Vance, Burgum, Rubio, and Tim Scott are "absolutely under consideration." 

"We have a lot of good people. As they call it, we have a great bench in the Republican Party," he added. "I haven’t made a final decision, but I have some ideas as to where we’re going."

And then there is Nikki Haley.

Haley is a neocon and the last type of Republican Trump could trust. Trump also doesn't like Haley. Nor do I.

Still, objectively, there is a case that she would best benefit the Trump campaign. Haley is popular among independent women, a demographic that plagued Trump four years ago.

Would Haley improve Trump's chances of winning the election? Honestly, yes. Is she in consideration? Doubtful.

Glenn Youngkin is also an intriguing option. The governor of Virginia rose to national prominence in 2021 during the off-year election. If Trump wins Virginia, the path for Democrats to win the election narrows substantially.

Youngkin would help Trump in Virginia.

In the meantime, Joe Biden remains adamant that he will stay on the ticket as the Democrat nominee. We aren't so sure.

David Axelrod wants Biden to step down. "Biden is not winning this race," Axelrod told CNN this week. Axelrod is Barack Obama's most trusted confidant – his mouthpiece.

If you want to know what Obama thinks, listen to Axelrod. 

Axelrod says Biden is done. Translation: Obama, the most powerful person in the Democrat Party, thinks Biden is done.

There are 118 days until the election.