This billionaire is the odds-on favorite to become California's governor after Swalwell dropped out

· Business Insider

Both Kalshi and Polymarket give billionaire Tom Steyer a 55% chance of becoming the next governor of California.

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  • For months, Rep. Eric Swalwell was leading the prediction market odds for governor of California.
  • He dropped out of the race on Sunday amid sexual misconduct allegations.
  • Now, billionaire Tom Steyer is the odds-on favorite, with 55% on Kalshi and Polymarket.

There's a new favorite to be the governor of California.

Tom Steyer, a billionaire philanthropist and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, is now favored by prediction markets to win the gubernatorial election in the country's largest state in November.

Traders on both Kalshi and Polymarket put Steyer's odds of winning at roughly 55%, well ahead of any of his competitors.

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Steyer's rise in the prediction markets began over the weekend amid allegations of sexual misconduct against Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell, which broke on Friday.

Swalwell has denied those allegations, which include inappropriate and nonconsensual sexual conduct with younger staffers. But the congressman faced an avalanche of calls to withdraw from the race, and on Sunday, he opted to do so.

Ironically, Swalwell had touted his own odds on Kalshi multiple times throughout his campaign.

Steyer, a philanthropist and climate activist, made his fortune running the hedge fund Farallon Capital. He is estimated to be worth $2.4 billion, according to Forbes.

He has largely self-funded his gubernatorial campaign, pouring a whopping $121.6 million into his bid as of mid-April.

Steyer is one of three billionaires running for governor across the US right now. The other two are Republicans — Vivek Ramaswamy in Ohio, and Rick Jackson in Georgia.

Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker of Illinois is currently the only billionaire serving in a governor's mansion. Other recent billionaire governors include Doug Burgum of North Dakota and Jim Justice of West Virginia, both Republicans.

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