The Bench Jockeys Set Odds for the 2012 Presidential Hopefuls
April 11, 2011 – 
In a field as diverse as…. well,… as diverse as a Republican field can be, The Bench Jockeys have scoured the US news outlets, scrutinized birth certificates, examined any number of self-serving PR posts, and by God, done a little hard-nosed research all in the interest of being your one-source stop for the 2012 Presidential Election marathon which began last week with Barack Obama’s declaration of his billion dollar fundraising target. Tonight, Minnesota’s Tim Pawlenty tossed his hat into the ring.
We have established the odds for every candidate who has either formed an “exploration committee” or may be jumping (or being pushed) into the Republican race against Barack Obama. We have also included a few Independents and a Libertarian just to stay trendy, but we all know that the President will emerge from either the Republican or Democratic ranks. As additional candidates step into the fray, we will keep you posted with updates and current odds. When news happens that impacts a particular candidate’s odds of being selected by his/her party, we will tweet about it and post to this page. Follow us on Twitter @benchjockeys.
And now,… ladies and gentlemen,… the nation’s first comprehensive oddsmaker lines for the Repulican Party’s nomination for the 2012 Presidential Election.
| Candidate | Age | Background | Opening Odds | Current Odds |
| Michele Bachmann | 54 | Current US Rep – MN | 25:1 | 25:1 |
| Haley Barbour | 63 | Former RNC Chair/Current Gov – MS | 10:1 | 15:1 |
| John Bolton | 62 | Former UN Amb/No Elected Offices | 30:1 | 30:1 |
| Scott Brown | 51 | Current US Senator – MA | 80:1 | 80:1 |
| Jeb Bush | 58 | Former Gov – FL | 50:1 | 50:1 |
| Herman Cain | 65 | KC Fed Reserve Chair Businessman | 25:1 | 25:1 |
| Chris Christie | 48 | Current Gov – NJ | 18:1 | 18:1 |
| Mitch Daniels | 62 | Current Gov – IN | 12:1 | 12:1 |
| Jim DeMint | 59 | Current US Senator – SC | 14:1 | 14:1 |
| Newt Gingrich | 67 | Former Speaker of House | 12:1 | 12:1 |
| Rudy Giuliani | 66 | Former Mayor – NYC | 200:1 | 200:1 |
| Lindsey Graham | 55 | Current US Senator – SC | 10:1 | 10:1 |
| Mike Huckabee | 55 | Former Gov – AR | 9:1 | 9:1 |
| Jon Huntsman | 51 | Former Gov – UT / US Amb | 40:1 | 40:1 |
| Bobby Jindal | 39 | Current Gov -LA | 30:1 | 30:1 |
| Gary Johnson | 58 | Former Gov – NM | 500:1 | 500:1 |
| Fred Karger | 61 | Pol Consultant/No Elected Office | a trillion :1 | a trillion :1 |
| Bob McDonnell | 56 | Current Gov – VA | 15:1 | 15:1 |
| Tom Miller | 46 | Flight Attendant/No Elected Office | a zillion :1 | a zillion :1 |
| Sarah Palin | 47 | Former Gov – AK | 25:1 | 25:1 |
| George Pataki | 65 | Former Gov – NY | 400:1 | 400:1 |
| Rand Paul | 48 | Current US Senator – KY | 150:1 | 150:1 |
| Ron Paul | 75 | Current US Rep – TX | 9:1 | 9:1 |
| Tim Pawlenty | 50 | Current Gov – MN | 4:1 | 4:1 |
| Michael Pence | 51 | Current US Rep – IN | 100:1 | 100:1 |
| Rick Perry | 61 | Current Gov – TX | 50:1 | 50:1 |
| David Petraeus | 58 | US Army General | 20:1 | 20:1 |
| Condoleezza Rice | 56 | Former Secretary of State | 50:1 | 50:1 |
| Buddy Roemer | 67 | Former Gov – LA | 5000:1 | 5000:1 |
| Mitt Romney | 64 | Former Gov – MA | 7:2 | 7:2 |
| Marco Rubio | 39 | Current US Senator – FL | 20:1 | 20:1 |
| Rick Santorum | 53 | Former US Senator – PA | 1000:1 | 1000:1 |
| John Thune | 50 | Current US Senator – SD | will not run | |
| Donald Trump | 54 | Businessman/No Elected Office | 18:1 | 18:1 |
| Allen West | 49 | Current US Rep – FL | 100:1 | 100:1 |
| Independents | ||||
| Mike Bloomberg | 69 | Current Mayor – NY | 40:1** | 40:1** |
| Charlie Crist | 55 | Current Gov – FL | 60:1** | 60:1** |
| Libertarian | ||||
| Wayne Allyn Root | 49 | Businessman / No Elected Office | 1000:1** | 1000:1** |
**For the Independents and Libertarians, odds posted are the odds of winning the presidency.
We welcome your comments and feedback and let the posturing begin.
Tags: 2012, candidates, election, line, nomination, obama, odds, politics, republican
I like the idea of placing a bet on Tom Miller and having it pay off (financially speaking only)… but seriously, I hadn’t considered Condoleeza Rice but I think she is entirely more electable than Sarah Palin… and while my father may disown me for this comment, it bothers me that Ms Palin is still considered a legitimate candidate after the debacle that was 2008….
What about Colin Powell?
On January 23, 2011, The Washington Post reported that Powell stated, “Right now I do not see on the Republican side any one individual that will emerge at the top of the pile. I have not yet seen anybody on the Republican side I am prepared to commit to and I am not committed to President Obama either.” This after Powell endorsed Obama saying in 2008 that Obama, “displayed a steadiness, an intellectual curiosity, a depth of knowledge . . . in not just jumping in and changing every day, but showing intellectual vigor.”
The Bench Jockeys do not seem him actually running eventhough there is a public petition being circulated in an effort to encourge him to file.
Looks like some of my old Roto baseball teams. Quite a few re-treds, a few blowhards, a few potential stars, many with bad hammy’s , and some wearing the wrong uni’s…
I contend that if you want the job, you have a genetic defect. Let’s change the process, and find someone who doesn’t want the job, and make that person do it for 4 years (and then let them out)!
That was worth waiting for. Keeping all those odds current by factoring in all past, present and likely future scandals, faux pas, steps and missteps is going to keep you very busy and me very entertained.
It’s what we live for here at The Bench Jockeys. Like shooting fish in a barrel.