Mike Huckabee Catching Up to Romney: Still at 50/1 OddsHuckabee starting to perform well in polls but lags behind Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani, Ron Paul and Fred Thompson
GOP hopeful Mitt Romney finds his long-held position as the state's front-runner challenged by a surging Mike Huckabee.
A CBS News/New York Times poll show Mike Huckabee well within striking distance, where he trails Romney, 27 percent to 21 percent, with a 5 percent margin of error.
Rudy Giuliani was in third at 15 percent. All other candidates were in single digits, including Fred Thompson, who had 9 percent support among likely caucus-goers.
While Romney still leads in Iowa, his support base is far softer than that of Huckabee, a former Arkansas governor whose campaign has gained momentum in recent weeks. Half of Huckabee supporters said they had made up their mind, compared to two-thirds of Romney supporters who said they could change their mind before caucus night. Overall, 57 percent of GOP caucus-goers said they haven't settled on one candidate.
Immigration was a major concern but not the deal breaker. According to the CBS poll, 75 percent said they could support a candidate who is less conservative than they are. This could offer hope to Huckabee, but not to Giuliani. While 38 percent said he was the most electable of the GOP candidates, likely caucus-goers were split nearly evenly on whether they could support a candidate who disagreed with them on social issues like abortion and gay marriage - Giuliani favors abortion rights and supports extending gay rights, though he does not support same-sex marriage.
The betting odds breakdown tells a different story, though the odds do not necessarily reflect Iowa's voters specifically. In fact, oddsmakers in this race are receiving bets placed from all over the world.
Mike Huckabee's solid poll showing in Iowa does not translate to the same popularity among bettors who have kept him at a long 50/1 odds of becoming the next US President. Mitt Romney comes in with 8/1 odds. Rudy Giuliani had dropped off to 5/1 odds from a peak of 3/1. Fred Thompson was still at 4/1 odds (the favorite among Republicans at Sportsbook.com. Ron Paul was listed with 6/1 odds, a reflection of his overall popularity on the Internet.
Mike Huckabee was listed with 55/1 odds at BetUS.com. Giuliani had odds of 3.5/1; Romney was listed with the same odds as Sportsbook.com, 8/1; Fred Thompson was far from a favorite here though with odds of 18/1. Ron Paul had odds of 12/1.
At World Sports Exchange, Ron Paul had crept up to number 3 with odds of 9/1. Giuliani led there with even odds; Romney had odds of 2/1; Huckabee had the shortest odds of any online gambling website at 9/1 tied with Ron Paul. Fred Thompson was listed with 13/1 odds.
Elsewhere, Giuliani was the 11/10 favorite at Ireland bookmaker, Paddy Power for a payout of $11 on every $10 bet. Romney paid 9 to 4 odds or $180 on a $100 bet. Ron Paul came in third here as well with 5 to 1 odds. Fred Thompson was listed with 6 to 1 odds. Huckabee was at 25/1 odds.
British bookmaker, William Hill - www.willhill.com , not yet influenced by Gambling911.com international readers, had Ron Paul with impressive 14 to 1 odds among Republican candidates to win the 2008 US Presidential elections. He trailed Giuliani with 5/1 odds and Romney with 7/1 odds but was ahead of Fred Thompson at 16/1 odds. Huckabee came in with 20/1 odds.
November 13, 2007 in 2008 US Presidential Betting Odds, Ron Paul Presidential Betting Odds
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Christopher Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher
Originally published November 13, 2007 8:25 pm ET
