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By Kate Plummer
Senior US News Reporter
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Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson overtook former Vice President Kamala Harris in latest 2028 presidential betting odds.
According to online betting website Polymarket, a platform where users can place "yes" or "no" bets on the likelihood of world events, the wrestler turned actor is hypothetically more likely to win in 2028 than Harris, the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee.
Newsweek contacted representatives for Johnson by email for comment.
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Why It Matters
There have been splits in the Democratic Party since Harris lost to Donald Trump. While nobody has formally announced their candidacy, the next leader will have to heal divisions between moderates and progressives in the party.
In the last few years, a Johnson presidency has been mulled on several occasions. A poll published in April 2021 found that 46 percent of Americans would support a White House bid by Johnson. In the same year, he expressed interest in the role in an interview with USA Today and in 2023 said multiple political parties had approached him about running, but in 2024 he said it was not his intention to run.
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What To Know
According to the betting odds at the time of writing, Harris has a 5 percent chance of winning the 2028 nomination, while Johnson has a 5.6 percent chance.
California Governor Gavin Newsom is leading with a 32 percent chance. Next is New York Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez with 11 percent. Pete Buttigieg, President Joe Biden's transportation secretary, has a 6 percent, just 1 percent more than Johnson, and earlier in the day, Johnson was ahead of Buttigieg.
What People Are Saying
Heath Brown an associate professor of public policy at City University of New York, told Newsweek: "Name recognition goes a long way in politics, and Dwayne Johnson surely has a lot of it. There are several other qualities which also make for a good candidate, and there are numerous candidates with many of those presidential qualities who we will see as prime contenders in 2028."
Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a May interview that he was "assessing the office and what it calls for." He added: "The other thing you're mapping against all of that is...your life. I mean the stakes are always high for somebody thinking about running for visible political office, but they're fundamentally different when you've got a spouse and kids. Having kids can motivate you to run, but it can also motivate you to spend more time at home."
What Happens Next
Candidates traditionally announce their presidential runs after the midterm elections, which will take place in November 2026.
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