Following the initial Republican debate and an exclusive interview between Donald Trump and Tucker Carlson on the social media platform X, wagers on the decentralized prediction marketplace Polymarket suggest Trump is leading, with presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy trailing the former president.

Trump Leads in Both Decentralized, Traditional Prediction Markets

Fox hosted the first Republican debate on Wednesday night, setting the stage for the 2024 U.S. general election. Concurrently, ex-president Donald Trump shared insights with Tucker Carlson in a broadcast that coincided with the debate. Trump confidently conveyed to Carlson his belief that he was miles ahead, rendering it unnecessary for him to spar with the other eight Republicans on stage.

The debate spotlighted figures like Florida’s governor Ron DeSantis, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former VP Mike Pence, North Dakota’s governor Doug Burgum, former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley, ex-governors of New Jersey and Arkansas Chris Christie and Asa Hutchinson, and South Carolina’s senator Tim Scott. Post-debate and Trump’s interview, Polymarket’s betting trends hint at a Trump nomination.

Archived statistics from August 24, 2023, at 8:35 p.m. Eastern Time (ET), underscore Trump’s position as a favorite with a strong 71% likelihood of securing the nomination. Contrarily, Ramaswamy has a 17% perceived chance, with the market reflecting an 84% certainty against his nomination. DeSantis, Haley, and Pence follow Ramaswamy in the Polymarket predictions.

Polymarket, launched around June 2020, saw significant traction during the pandemic. However, in January 2022, the platform faced a $1.4 million penalty from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission for operating an unregistered platform allowing event-based wagers. Polymarket’s projections don’t stray far from conventional betting realms. As Sportsbettingdime.com highlighted on Thursday:

After the first (Trump-free) GOP debate, Ramaswamy improved to +550 while Desantis faded to +750. Nikki Haley also improved from +3900 to +2900.

Data from Draftkings Network echoes this, portraying Trump as the likely GOP nominee for 2024, evidenced by his negative odds and consequent smaller returns for bettors. Ramaswamy and DeSantis lag behind, with their favorable payouts indicating a perceived lesser chance of victory. Tim Scott and Haley are seen as long shots, promising significant returns for bettors banking on their triumph.

What do you think about the betting markets for the Republican nomination? Share your thoughts and opinions about this subject in the comments section below.