Before we get into the presidential betting lines and hypothetical outcomes, let’s dive into what’s happening in the crucial Senate and House races.

Democrats hoped to unseat at least three Republican Senators and will need to unseat four if President Trump wins, and Mike Pence acts as the ex officio tie-breaker vote. The moneylines favored most Democrats in the tight Senate races, but election day has proven challenging for the Democrat’s dreams of controlling the upper chamber.

Here are a few of the odds from key senate races from yesterday.

US Senate Election Winner – Maine
Sara Gideon (D) -190
Susan Collins (R) +145

Susan Collins was considered the most vulnerable Republican Senate seat, and she fought against a heavily funded Sara Gideon. Now with 85% of votes counted, Collins leads Gideon by 51% to 42%.

US Senate Election Winner – Georgia (General Election)
David Perdue (R) -165
Jon Ossoff (D) +125

David Perdue leads Jon Ossof with 96% of votes counted and a 50.8% t0 46.9%.

US Senate Election Winner – Georgia (Special Election)
Raphael Warnock (D) -110
Kelly Loeffler (R) +190
Doug Collins (R) +325

Raphael Warnock still leads the special election race and will go to a runoff between Loeffler and Warnock at a yet to be scheduled date.

US Senate Election Winner – Colorado
John Hickenlooper (D) -800
Cory Gardner (R) +460

One of the significant Senate victories for the Democrats was in Colorado.

US Senate Election Winner – Iowa
Joni Ernst (R) -250
Theresa Greenfield (D) +185

Joni Ernst was in the political fight of her career but managed to hold onto her seat.

Meanwhile, Republicans Mitch McConnell and Lindsey Graham defended their seats. Democrats lost races in Montana and Texas as well. The House of Representatives is a somewhat different picture. Democrats are poised to regain control of the House, but their expansion predictions are being smothered. Instead, Republicans have unseated House members in South Florida, Oklahoma, New Mexico, South Carolina, and Minnesota.

And finally, the presidential election odds have been going crazy. The sportsbooks extended their betting deadlines, understanding that vote counting will take a long time. Six states hang in the balance: Nevada, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and North Carolina.

2020 Us Presidential Election Winner
Donald Trump +250
Joe Biden -350

US Presidential Election 2020 Winner
Joe Biden -460
Donald Trump +315

Biden is favored heavily and leads the states of NV, WI, and MI. Meanwhile, Trump leads in GA, PA, and NC.

Biden leads the electoral college with 238 projected votes compared to Trump’s 213. Trump needs to win PA with three other states. If Trump loses PA, he needs to sweep five of the six deciding states. Biden can win with NV, WI, and MI. If Biden takes PA, GA, or NC he has a clear shot to 270.

Pennsylvania will likely become the deciding state. With court battles underway on how and when to count absentee ballots, some expect a drawn-out re-run of the Florida 2000 vote and a possible Supreme Court ruling. We will keep you updated as the events unfold.

Sources:
CNN
USA Today

Biden will spend election night at his home in Wilmington and a nearby election center. Trump took the motorcade out earlier to visit his campaign headquarters in Arlington, Virginia. The President, Vice President, and over 400 guests will spend election night at the White House.

Despite anguish over the hectic presidential campaigns, states opened their polls successfully and report little to no hiccups so far in vote counting. In Milwaukee, WI, officials say that all of the city’s 173 polling placed opened with no signs of problems either at the polling centers or at the city’s absentee ballot counting center.

In Madison, WI, over 33% of absentee ballots have already been processed.

33.48% of absentee ballots have been processed!

31.86% turnout of registered voters so far.

Happy dance:)

Remember: in line by 8, YOU CAN VOTE.#MadisonVotes2020 #vote #elections2020 pic.twitter.com/5Ee1hrEKDa

— Madison WI Clerk (@MadisonWIClerk) November 3, 2020

Florida, a hotly contested battleground state, also reports a smooth election opening. Florida’s Secretary of State Laurel Lee stated that no voting issues, save minor technological issues in Lake and Lee Counties, have occurred. Lee confirmed that threatening emails some Floridians received appearing to be from the Proud Boys were Iranian disinformation.

Moreover, Iowa’s swing state finished counting absentee ballots in its biggest county – Polk County – with no troubles. Polk County Auditor Jamie Fitzgerald tweeted the success.

Early votes received as of yesterday have been counted, but not tallied. This process was oversaw by a bi-partisan absentee team that included a few past county chairs.

We still have mail and over the counter ballots that need to be counted today. Results not known until 9 pm

— Jamie Fitzgerald (@Polkauditorfitz) November 3, 2020

Nearly half of all Iowans have already voted early.

Voting in Pennsylvania is also underway without much trouble. Officials already expect delays in counting votes, and the Supreme Court ruled to give Pennsylvanians an extra three days to receive mail-in ballots. Republican actors appealed the court’s decision. Poll workers are still counting the votes and setting them in a separate pile if the court repeals those ballots from the count.

In Luzerne County, PA residents voted for Obama in 2012 and Trump in 2016. County Manager David Pedri reported that the county expects counting over 60,000 mail-in ballots today. Volunteers there process nearly 2,000 votes per hour, and at that pace, anticipate processing just over one-third of total mail-in ballots by 8 PM tonight.

Another state with a legal battle, North Carolina, voted to extend the voting deadline in certain precincts by 45 minutes due to expected delays.

Voting in Arizona also is going smoothly; Arizona’s Maricopa county reports no polling troubles. In Connecticut, Secretary of State Denise Merrill told reporters that voter turnout is already near 75% of 2016’s total turnout. Georgia’s Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger, stated that Georgia is having a successful election day so far.

And still in more states, like Colorado, are shattering their 2016 turnout numbers. Over 76% of registered Colorado voters have cast ballots this election, a huge turnout compared to previous elections.

Even in places with large amounts of Republican and Democratic demonstrators, the scene remains peaceful. In Houston, TX, demonstrators are engaging each other passionately, but not violently.

As officials predict 2020 election turnout to be incredibly high, the highest action we see is on the sportsbooks. The political betting lines for the presidency, senate, and electoral college races are closing fast.

The books across the board favor Biden, but everyone knows that could change within hours. Trump moved the line steadily over the past week away from Biden’s favor, but now it appears that Biden has halted that trend.

US Presidential Election 2020
Joe Biden -205
Donald Trump +175

Compare this to the same line just yesterday—lots of high action on this line over the past 24 hours.

US Presidential Election Winner
Joe Biden -180
Donald Trump +150

The sportsbooks are closing their political betting lines within hours, so make sure to get your last-minute bets in now. If you’re wondering when the election will even be decided – there’s a line for that, too.

Sources:
CNN
CNN Politics

Unprecedented spikes in coronavirus cases, problems with mail-in and early voting, and voter suppression accounts coupled with election fraud conspiracy circulate the American media.

Recent surges in COVID-19 cases have generated more uncertainty around the world’s reoperation from the pandemic. Many European countries, including Great Britain, are enforcing new quarantine and lockdown measures. In the US, health officials worry that easing restrictions along with the winter climate will create big problems down the road.

In just the past few days, the US reached a daily record number of coronavirus cases, over 90,000 new infections in a day. The Biden campaign continues to attack Donald Trump on this front, while Trump’s administration tries to shift focus to a working vaccine’s proximity. It remains unclear as to any verifiable timeline on the availability of a vaccine.

There has been much anxiety over the election process, and the different problems election officials have encountered. Some Americans have lost their trust in electoral integrity altogether. Polling stations are already reporting that counting will not be done by November 3rd, and a winner may not be decided until a few weeks afterward.

Yet, Americans are still flocking to the polls in record amounts. Early voting in 2020 has vastly outpaced early voting in 2016. If vote counting takes too long, there’s a possibility that the legislature may exert their constitutional authority and vote on the next President themselves.

That’s not all voters are worried over, however. Voters also anticipate what election day will look like with possible unofficial election observers unfairly monitoring the polls. There is also concern by some over salient civic unrest from BLM movement protests bleeding over to the election. Lastly, voters also fear the possibility of voter intimidation and suppression on election day.

While these possibilities are scary, it’s essential to acknowledge that many voters should experience a peaceful and uneventful election day. Now let’s look at a few different political election props from our top-rated sportsbooks, of which we here at PAB speculate on the perfect parlay matchup. First, the lines on the Presidential candidates.

2020 US Presidential Election Winner
Donald Trump +130
Joe Biden -170

US Presidential Election Winner
Joe Biden -180
Donald Trump +150

Trump has continued to shift the odds on these lines toward his favor. This is the last opportunity to bet on this line, and we expect another underdog upset like in 2016. If you’re setting up this parlay, consider wagering on Trump.

Now couple this bet with Joe Biden winning the popular vote, and you have the opportunity to maximize your bankroll. If Hilary won the popular vote in 2016, you could bet that it will happen again for Joe.

Party To Win Pop. Vote In The 2020 Election

Democrats -700

Republicans +400 Lastly, consider parlaying these two with the Senate control election prop. Democrats are locked into a few key races that may grant them majority control of the Senate.

Majority Control of the US Senate
DEM Senators in 117th Congress -150
REP Senators in 117th Congress +110

We left off the last article with the final Presidential debate results between President Donald Trump and Democratic candidate Joe Biden. There was some concurrent action on the Presidential election odds. Donald Trump managed to move the line 10 points in his favor across the books, but the net results show Biden still held a considerable lead.

Before we move into the current line movements, let’s see what happened since the final debate.

First, a full Senate hearing voted to induct Judge Amy Coney Barrett into the Supreme Court. Protest from the DNC did not prove to stall the induction, and the GOP’s 53-senate majority allowed them to move the process along swiftly. Lower court judges used to need a 60-seat supermajority vote, but those rules changed to a simple majority during the Obama administration. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell applied the ruling to the Supreme Court, much at Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s dismay.

Although Barrett can change the country long-term, her induction was overshadowed by the Presidential campaigns. The final week of campaigning illuminated how the respective candidates feel about their election odds.

In just a few short days, Donald Trump moved across over 12 states, attempting to staunch Democratic support in crucial swing states that solidified his electoral college victory in 2016. Meanwhile, Joe Biden homed in on just a handful of states. Instead of defending states from flipping, Joe Biden sought after historically red states that could act as insurance electoral college votes.

Today, Biden and Trump set their sights on Florida. Biden leads Florida by merely 1.7%, and its 29 electoral college votes could handedly decide the next POTUS. Some expect Florida and other swing states to have contested legal battles over the voting process and how long it takes. Despite the polls, the odds for Florida’s electoral college favor Trump.

Florida (Fl) – Electoral College (MyBookie)
Republican Candidate -160
Democratic Candidate +120

Florida (FL) – Electoral College (Bovada)
Republican Candidate -145
Democratic Candidate +110

If you are a political bettor or only a concerned citizen, it’s essential to compare the different political betting lines a sportsbook offers. Take extra care to see where the line is on those key swing states that could decide the Presidency. Compare those lines to the odds on the winner of the election.

Winner 2020 Presidential Election (Bovada)
Joe Biden -175
Donald Trump +145

Winner 2020 Presidential Election (MyBookie)

Joe Biden -175
Donald Trump +135

Compared to last week, Biden’s strong favor continues to shrink. When placing bets, consider this trend and expect the line to continue to shift away from Biden. Take this in hand with Florida’s odds on the electoral college winner, and you begin to see that Joe Biden has a genuine chance of losing the election.

If you’re going to bet, do it now before the gap closes, and payouts become too small. If you’re confident on some of those swing state odds, then you may have an exciting parlay set up.

Sorting through the slew of biased news and picking out the fundamental morsels of truth feels like swatting a fly with a sledgehammer. Luckily, here at PAB, we’re ripped.

Let’s go step by step and take a look at the election odds along the way.

Just a few weeks ago, shortly after President Trump’s coronavirus diagnosis, Joe Biden held a significant ten-point lead over the incumbent. As the election day draws near, the Trump administration managed to narrow that margin to around five points.

In terms of spending, the Biden campaign has roughly $160 million in funds compared with Trump’s estimated $68 million in the last leg of the race.

In place of a second debate, the Biden and Trump campaigns held separate town hall meetings. They competed for ratings and fielded questions from undecided voters.

Trump stumbled through questions on his handling of the pandemic, his meekly alarming tax returns, and his lack of healthcare plans. Biden similarly side-stepped inquiries into court-packing and his climate change goals.

Meanwhile, in Congress, hearings for conservative Supreme Court nominee for Amy Coney Barrett were underway. Democrats pressed Barrett on her views on abortion, Obamacare, and gay marriage.

Republicans defended Barrett and today voted 12-0 to induct the judge despite Democratic boycotts. On Monday, a full Senate confirmation will take place. Adding Barrett to the Supreme Court will sway the highest court to a 6-3 conservative edge.

Additionally, US House and Senate races tighten. States like Maine and Colorado are set to unseat incumbent Republican Senators. In general, the Democrats are experiencing higher leads and opportunities to regain control of the legislature.

Trump and Biden both take on key swing states, predominantly Florida and Pennsylvania, who offer 29 and 20 electoral college votes, respectively. Biden leads the polls in both states, yet the Trump administration expects a similar 2016 situation to flip the electoral college.

Early voting is also underway, with a record 40 million Americans voting early, signaling a Biden lead. Officials expect vote counting to take a long time, with a few states experiencing their hanging chad moments reminiscent of the Florida 2000 election count.

Biden and Trump both gear up, mobilizing hundreds of lawyers to prepare for a contested election result. If this is the case, many expect the Election Recount Act, a 133-year old US Code, to come into play.

The highly ambiguous Act states that if, after 41 days, a state has not finished counting votes, that state’s legislature can forgo the process and establish its own elector list.

Today, Obama spoke in Philadelphia, slamming President Trump for, well, basically everything. On the day of the final debate, many say the timing of this speech was an attempt to ruffle Trump’s feathers and affect his debate performance.

Finally, the last debate is set to take place tonight at 9:00 PM in Nashville, Tennessee. The topics covered will be COVID-19, American Families, race, leadership, national security, and climate change.

The debate is one of the last opportunities for both candidates to sway undecided voters.

One of our favorite sportsbooks, MyBookie, dropped new props from the last debate in which we take an interest. 

Final Presidential Debate Props

What Style Will Joe Biden’s Tie Be?

• Striped Or Spotted -190
• Solid Color +145

Will Joe Biden Have A Pocket Square Showing?

• Yes -400
• No +250

J Biden Wears Mask On Stage At Any Point-Broadcast

• Yes -105
• No -135

These odds shifted from a +120 Yes and -160 No since they were posted. Biden may wear the mask to try to visibly upset the President. Trump dipped in the polls after a similarly animated first debate performance.

What Color Will Donald Trump’s Tie Be?

• Red/Purple -220
• Blue/Light Blue/Navy Blue +250
• Black/White/Grey +400

What Style Will Donald Trump’s Tie Be?

• Striped Or Spotted +145
• Solid Color -190

Trump – Biden Tie Style Parlay

• Trump Striped Tie – Biden Striped Tie +250
• Trump Solid Tie – Biden Striped Tie +125
• Trump Striped Tie – Biden Solid Tie +450
• Trump Solid Tie – Biden Solid Tie +350

What Will Be Said First By Joe Biden?

• Thanks +100
• Hello +150
• Thank You +200
• Hi +300

What Will Be Said First By Donald Trump?

• Thank You +100
• Hello +150
• Thanks +200
• Hi +300

Which Topic Will Be Debated First?

• Fighting Covid-19 +200
• American Families +400
• Race In America +400
• Climate Change +400
• National Security +400
• Leadership +400

Although the pandemic was listed #1, the candidates are experts at redirecting debate subjects back to their talking points

What Will Be Said First By Trump Or Biden?

• Pandemic +175
• Mask +200
• Recovered +175
• Who/World Health Organization +500
• Cdc/Center For Disease Control +500
• Fauci +700

What Will Be Said First By Trump Or Biden?

• Class +175
• Struggle/Struggling +200
• Healthy +225
• Breakdown +400
• Traditional +400

Which State Will Be Mentioned First?

• Tennessee -165
• Ohio +250
• Florida +250
• Michigan +500
• New York +600

Min. Into The Debate For Trump To Say Hunter

• Over 15 Minutes 30 Seconds -120
• Under 15 Minutes 30 Seconds -120

How Many Times Will Trump Say “Corrupt/Corruption”?

• Over 3.5 -120
• Under 3.5 -120

How Many Times Will Donald Trump Say “Ukraine”?

• Over 3.5 +120
• Under 3.5 -160

How Many Times Will Donald Trump Say “Burisma”?

• Over 1.5 +155
• Under 1.5 -220

How Many Times Will Joe Biden Say Covid?

• Over 8.5 -120
• Under 8.5 -120

How Many Times Will Donald Trump Say Covid?

• Over 4.5 +100
• Under 4.5 -140

How Many Times Will Joe Biden Say “Coronavirus”?

• Over 1.5 +120
• Under 1.5 -160

How Many Times Will Donald Trump Say “Coronavirus”?

• Over 2.5 +155
• Under 2.5 -220

The odds shifted in favor of the Under. Trump may stay away from the subject in general because Biden will most likely try to press the topic.

Which Candidate Will Say “Black People/Americans”?

• Joe Biden – First -150
• Donald Trump – First +110

Will Joe Biden Say “Racist”?

• Yes -400
• No +250

Which Candidate Will Say “Racism” First?

• Joe Biden -400
• Donald Trump +250

How Many Times Will Donald Trump Say “Isis”?

• Over 2.5 -120
• Under 2.5 -120

How Many Times Will Donald Trump Say “Antifa”?

• Over 3.5 +120
• Under 3.5 -160

Times “Russia” Will Be Said By Either Candidate

• Over 3.5 -140
• Under 3.5 +100

How Many Times Will “Email” Be Said By Trump?

• Over 2.5 -150
• Under 2.5 +110

How Many Times Will “Laptop” Be Said By Trump?

• Over 1.5 -130
• Under 1.5 -110

What Will Be Said First By Either Candidate?

• Fraud +165
• Liar +165
• Corrupt +165

These are just a snippet of all the 2020 political props that the books have to offer. The final debate may pivot the nature of the election. We hope that it doesn’t crumble into another screaming match.

Sources: USA Today, CNN

The Joe Biden campaign rallies workers, students, Black voters, Latinx voters, and Trump turncoats under a unified message: bring normality back into the White House and stability back into our democratic institutions

President Trump primarily markets to political and religious conservatives, non-educated white voters, and white women voters.

The odds for the 2020 Presidential Election see large amounts of action.

Here are a few that we are keeping our eyes on:

Popular Vote Winner
Democrats -650
Republicans +400

The polls and the odds both indicate a Democratic victory when it comes to the popular vote. Hillary Clinton won the popular vote in 2016, and we expect a repeat for Biden in 2020.

Voter Turnout in the U.S Presidential Election
Over 149.5 million voters -250
Under 149.5 million voters +175

Voter Turnout in the U.S. Presidential Election
Over 60.5 % -145
Under 60.5 % +115

Many Americans report the 2020 election as more important than previous ones. Additionally, the 2018 mid-term elections saw the highest voter turnout since 1914, indicating a similar record number on November 3rd.

Sources claim over 10 million Americans already voted via mail-in ballots, with a strong Democratic voting surge.

Will Trump lose every state he lost in 2016
Yes -290
No +230

The states that Donald Trump lost are widening their margins in favor of Biden, don’t expect Trump to flip any of those states.

Will Trump win every state he won in 2016
No -800
Yes +500

We can see shifts throughout many states that Trump won easily in 2016. For example, Pennsylvania gave Trump 20 electoral votes in 2016, but today Biden leads by over six percentage points.

Winner of the popular vote wins electoral college
Yes -225
No+185

It looks like the odds for a Democratic sweep are strong.

What some overlook, however, are the odds in the House and Senate.

House Seats Won by Democrats
Over 209.5 Seats -3300
Under 209.5 Seats +1400

Majority Control of the U.S. Senate
DEM Senators in 117th Congress -225
REP Senators in 117th Congress +160

U.S. Senate & House of Representatives
Any Other balance of Power -170
DEM Control House & REP Control Senate +140

The Democratic sweep does not stop at the executive branch. Both polls and odds predict large turnarounds for the Democratic Party in the legislature.

The balance of power is a trickier proposition. A full Democratic win across House and Senate only leads by a small margin.

Meanwhile, lines open and close on state-by-state Senate races.

Montana
S. Daines (R) -205 
S. Bullock (D) +170 

South Carolina
L. Graham (R) -315 
J. Harrison (D)+245

Arizona
M. McSally (R) +400 
M. Kelly (D) -550 

Keep an eye out for these odds because they appear and disappear daily.

Sources:
CNBC
Pew Research

According to the most recent polling data gathered on a national scale and averaged by RealClearPolitics, a whopping 41.4% of likely Democratic voters say they support Biden over all other Democrats running for president in next year’s primary election.

This gives Biden a 26.8-point advantage over Bernie Sanders, who is the only other candidate who polls in the double digits with 14.6% of Democratic respondents saying they support him for the party’s nomination.

When looking at the betting odds to see who the bookmakers and the public believes will get the nod from Dems in 2020, Biden leads all candidates but by a much smaller margin.

Currently, Bovada lists Biden at +225 ($100 bet wins $225) which gives him a 30.77% chance to win the Democratic nomination when the odds are converted to an implied probability.

Sanders places second in the odds as well and is listed at +325, giving him a 23.53% chance be the party’s pick to be the next President of the United States — only 7.24% behind Biden.

Below you will find the polling data and betting odds — arguably two of the most reliable prediction methods available — for Biden, Sanders, and all of the 2020 Democratic candidates who’ve officially announced their White House bid.

2020 Democratic Presidential Nomination Polling Data

RealClearPolitics – May 13, 2019

The following polling data is based on the “RCP average” from April 25 through May 5 and includes numbers from the latest national polls conducted by The Hill/Harris X, Morning Consult, Harvard-Harris, CNN, and Quinnipiac.

• Joe Biden 41.4%
• Bernie Sanders 14.6%
• Elizabeth Warren 8.0%
• Kamala Harris 7.0%
• Pete Buttigieg 6.6%
• Beto O’Rourke 4.4%
• Cory Booker 2.6%
• Amy Klobuchar 1.4%
• Andrew Yang 0.8%
• Tulsi Gabbard 0.8%
• Julian Castro 0.8%
• Kirsten Gillibrand 0.6%
• Tim Ryan 0.6%
• Jay Inslee 0.6%
• John Delaney 0.6%
• John Hickenlooper 0.2%

*All other candidates received less than 0.1%

Odds to win the 2020 Democratic Presidential Nomination

Bovada – May 13, 2019

The betting odds below are based on the current “US Presidential Election 2020 – Democratic Candidate” betting line found in the “Politics” section at Bovada Sportsbook. Oddsmakers evaluate each candidates’ chances of winning the nomination and post a betting line that they believe will receive “equal action.” Odds can then fluctuate if more/less public money is placed on one candidate over another.

• Joe Biden +225
• Bernie Sanders +325
• Kamala Harris +500
• Pete Buttigieg +550
• Elizabeth Warren +1200
• Andrew Yang +1400
• Beto O’Rourke +1600
• Cory Booker +2500
• Tulsi Gabbard +2500
• Amy Klobuchar +3300
• Hillary Clinton +4000
• Kirsten Gillibrand +6600
• Julian Castro +8000

At the beginning of February, Former Democratic Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke told Oprah in a televised interview that he’ll decide whether to enter the 2020 presidential race “by the end of this month.”

And the oddsmakers certainly like his chances at winning the 2020 presidential election, placing him in either the 3rd or 4th spot and giving him the best odds out of all the top candidates that have yet to announce — even beating out former Vice President Joe Biden, who also hasn’t decided on a 2020 run.

Beto O’Rourke – Odds to Win 2020 Presidential Election

• Bovada +800
• BetOnline +900

Now, with only a couple days remaining, O’Rourke hasn’t given any hints on what his decision will be. Even another run at the Senate is on the table since he could take a safer bet and challenge Republican John Cornyn for his seat next year. Ted Cruz defeated O’Rourke by a slim margin when his Senate seat in Texas was up for grabs during the 2018 midterms.

“I’m trying to figure out how I can best serve this country, where I can do the greatest good for the United States of America,” O’Rourke said when asked if running for the other Senate seat was a possibility. “So, yeah, I’m thinking through that and it, you know, may involve running for the presidency. It may involve something else.”

But O’Rourke stated that he doesn’t want to be held to the “end of the month” deadline set by himself but said he still expects to make a decision by the end of February as recent as last week.

“I won’t be limited by, you know, the end of this month,” O’Rourke said. “But I expect to be able to get to a decision by the end of this month.”

And according to CNN, he told reporters in Spanish that “he is not taking the Democratic vice presidential nomination off the table.”

O’Rourke has certainly made it a point to publicly challenge President Donald Trump recently — especially on his U.S.-Mexico border wall — and even organized a rally much larger than the president’s when he came to El Paso to have his own rally prior to declaring the national emergency to secure funds to construct a border wall.

Whether O’Rourke announces that he’ll enter the enormous field of Democrats vying for the party’s 2020 nomination by the end of February is not particularly make or break for his presidential odds.

However, when you consider the millions of dollars being raised for the campaigns of his competition — including Bernie Sanders raising $10 million in just one week — one has to think that the odds of him winning the White House in 2020 go down if he doesn’t decide by the end of February and as each second passes on the Beto O’Clock.

On Tuesday, Feb. 19, the independent senator from Vermont announced that he is running for President of the United States and will seek the 2020 Democratic nomination after several months of speculation from the public.

“I’m running for president. I am asking you to join me today as part of an unprecedented and historic grassroots campaign that will begin with at least 1 million people from across the country,” Sanders wrote in a tweet.

Sanders is currently listed at +1000 in the recently updated odds at Bovada and is one of the top betting favorites to win the 2020 presidential election. Only Donald Trump (+200), Kamala Harris (+500), Beto O’Rourke (+800), and Joe Biden (+800) have more favorable odds of taking the White House at this time.

He enters an ever-growing field of Democratic candidates seeking the 2020 presidential bid. Of the favorites, only O’Rourke and Biden have yet to officially declared on whether they will seek the party’s nomination.

The announcement from the 77-year old candidate first came in an interview on Vermont Public Radio and then through an email to supporters and via social media.

Sanders said his decision to run in 2020 was originally based on whether he was the best candidate to defeat President Trump in the general election next year, describing him as “a pathological liar, a fraud, a racist, a sexist, a xenophobe and someone who is undermining American democracy as he leads us in an authoritarian direction.”

However, over time and leading up to the announcement, Sanders said the focus for his campaign became much more important than any one person, including himself.

“Our campaign is not only about defeating Donald Trump, the most dangerous president in modern American history. It is not only about winning the Democratic nomination and the general election,” Sanders said. “Our campaign is about transforming our country and creating a government based on the principles of economic, social, racial and environmental justice.”

Sanders also had a message the rich and those who have controlled politicians in the past through lobbying and political action committees.

“They may have the money and the power. We have the people.”

On Monday, October 15, 2018, Facebook, the largest social network platform in the world with 1.5 billion users logging on daily, announced it will ban all false reports on requirements for voting, long wait times for voters, and violence at polling places for the rest of October and up to the Midterm Elections on November 6, 2018.

Facebook has traditionally had a hand-offs approach to censorship by banning all misinformation likely to avoid censorship charges.

However, the social network has been criticized for the way it negligently handled posts containing misinformation and fake news reports which were designed to suppress voting during the 2016 presidential election.

One of the most common posts made on Facebook during the 2016 presidential election to reduce voter turnout was targeted post at specific users telling them it was now possible to vote via text message.

Many polling experts have agreed posts like this led to lower voter turnout in 2016 presidential election, which was won by Donald Trump after getting +475 odds from Bovada on becoming the next President of the United States right before the first vote was counted on election night.

Even though Facebook will target and ban posts regarding voting misinformation this election cycle, Facebook News Feed Product Manager Tessa Lyons said the company will not prohibit posts from users containing false information regarding candidates, ballot measures, or any other election-related issues.

“We don’t believe we should remove things from Facebook that are shared by authentic people if they don’t violate those community standards, even if they are false,” said Lyons.

Under the newly-implemented company policy, posts containing links to news reports containing inflated numbers or are deemed misleading with the intent of discouraging voter turnout will be given to the Facebook fact-checkers to determine whether the post is false. If the post is deemed false, it will then be severely limited to a small group of the original poster’s most connected friends and banned from the vast majority of feeds from other friends in an effort to limit the spread of intentional voter misinformation leading up to the election this November.

Many critics of the policy believe Facebook is not going far enough to curb false information on its social networking platform and is opening the door for hackers and campaigns organized in Russia or other foreign countries who will attempt to interfere with the 2018 Midterm Elections – a sentiment that was recently echoed in August by President Trump’s Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats and other leaders on his national security team.

“I fully share the intelligence community’s assessments and past efforts and those today to interfere with our election and of the current threat,” said Coats. “Our adversaries have shown they have the willingness and capability to interfere in our elections.”

“We continue to see a pervasive messaging campaign by Russia to try to weaken and divide the United States. We also know the Russians tried to hack into and steal information from candidates and government officials alike,” said Coats. “We will continue to monitor and warn of any such efforts.”

In addition, Graham Brookie, head of the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab and other digital forensic experts believe the new policy for this election cycle won’t amount to much change as the Facebook fact-checkers will likely be bombarded with flagged posts, making it impossible to sift through and check each one for accuracy.

Bookie went even as far to say that until Facebook implements a serious policy to stop the spread of misinformation, then false news and reports will continue to thrive on the social media platform, harming the search for truth by everyday Americans and opening the door for foreign interference in future elections.

“Without a clear and transparent policy to curb the deliberate spread of false information that applies across platforms, we will continue to be vulnerable.”