The Betting Line On The Blaine House
From the Department of Odds
Well, now we have a new candidate in the race: Former Senate President, current state senator, and former Maine Republican Party chair Rick Bennett (R-Oxford County) has for some reason decided to run for governor as an independent. So, it’s time to update my gubernatorial rankings.
For those unfamiliar with gambling (bless you!), here’s how odds work in terms of $1 bets. If someone is listed as +300, then you’ll be paid $4 if you bet $1, for $3 in winnings. If someone is listed as -300, then you’ll be paid $1.33 if you bet $1, for $0.33 in winnings. Generally speaking, negative odds are favored, so you’d win less in a purely hypothetical bet; positive odds are not, so you’d win more.
Image generated by ChatGPT. I swear I did not tell it to make independents a raccoon, it made that choice on its own.
So, I’m ranking the gubernatorial candidates in terms of their hypothetical, entertainment-purposes only odds to win their respective primaries. Here’s Vegas-style odds on the gubernatorial candidates’ chances to win their respective primaries. For the moment, I’m only including officially declared candidates, not hypothetical ones; I’ll add them in if and when they announce.
Odds To Win Democratic Primary
Hannah Pingree: -100
Shenna Bellows: +275
Troy Jackson: +300
Angus King III: +500
Kenneth Forrest Pinet: +2000
Odds To Win Republican Primary
Robert Charles: +250
James Libby: +350
David Jones: +650
Robert Wessels: +850
Kenneth Capron: +2000
Steven Sheppard: +2500
Odds To Win General Election (Independents Only)
Rick Bennett: +1500
Jim is also a weekly columnist for the Portland Press Herald, Maine’s largest daily newspaper. Follow him on X or on Facebook.