Congressional Catfight: Dewey Defeats Truman
Actually, no. But considering how close our latest race was, confusion over the winner would be understandable. We couldn’t write the headline for the post until after closing the polls — which we had to attempt multiple times, since the first few times we tried, our fighters were tied.
Following on the heels of the nailbiter between Nancy Pelosi and Sheila Jackson-Lee, we had another insanely close Congressional Catfight on our hands. Katherine Harris and Barney Frank were tied at 1407 votes apiece, then tied again at 1409. At 11:26 AM, Frank edged ahead, with 1412 votes to Katy’s 1410. At 11:29 AM, they were tied again, at 1413 each.
As we pledged to do yesterday, we tried to close the polls at 11:30 AM Eastern time. We tried to close them at 11:30 AM on the dot, but Harris and Frank were still tied. We tried again, a few second later; still tied. Finally, at approximately 11:31 AM, we managed to close the voting. And here are the results:
WOW — the closest catfight ever. Pelosi defeated Jackson-Lee by three votes, out of 2,639 cast, but Barney Frank just scored an even narrower victory: a one-vote margin, out of 2,829 votes cast.
To be totally honest, your editors are perhaps a teensy bit disappointed that our beloved Katherine didn’t make it to the finals. And having Cynthia McKinney knocked out so early surprised us too. But Congressional Catfight isn’t about our preferences; it’s about the popular will. And you, the people, have spoken.
Representative Pelosi: Are you ready to wrestle with Barney Frank?
Update: Sorry, we take this all back. As discussed in the comments, there have been some voting irregularities. We’re going to be having a tiebreaker poll — details to follow later today.
Further update: You can vote in the runoff by clicking here.
Earlier: Congressional Catfight: Harris vs. Frank
Congressional Catfight: An Update on Harris vs. Frank
READ MORE: barney frank, capitol hill, catfights, congressional catfight, crazies, gay, gays, katherine harris, lunatics, polls, top
According the graphic Katherine Harris got a mysterious extra vote and it's tied. You had to see that coming.
by Brettson on 05/17/06 12:08 PM
We closed the polls in Movable Type this morning. So the appearance of after-the-fact "mystery votes," for both Harris and Frank, is completely bizarre.
We'd like to send this matter to the U.S. Supreme Court for decision. But we don't see how they have jurisdiction over the matter.
So we think that the only fair solution, given the razor-close margin and voting irregularities, is to have a tiebreaker or runoff. More on that to come.
by David Lat on 05/17/06 12:33 PM
Methinks there are some shenanigans happening here... Either people really love or really hate their respective political mascots, and are engaged in an effort to stuff the ballot box.
Depends on whether you consider winning this affair to be a plus or a minus for your boy or girl.
by Alfonso X. Alfonse on 05/17/06 12:54 PM
Bah... we should just ask that Article 3 Groupie Guy to make a ruling, selecting the Republican, natch!
I'd prefer a tiebreaker with a chance to accidently vote for Pat Buchanan, please. Or at least some guns and gay prostitutes.
by Brettson on 05/17/06 01:06 PM
Katherine Harris and a voting scandal. That's never happened before.
by Dexceus on 05/17/06 01:28 PM
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