Today, there were several diaries asking for predictions for tonight's exciting Congressional race in Ohio's Second District. It is safe to say that everyone wanted an outright victory, and some of us actually predicted it, but the final percentage results were Schmidt 52 - Hackett 48. (Actually, Schmidt is slightly less than 52 and Hackett slightly more than 48 - so it's 52- - 48+). This is a significant turnaround in a staunchly Republican District and is less than the bar set by Charlie Cook for a sign that the Republicans are in trouble generally on a national basis.
By my count, there were 33 entries in the prediction contest and many were surprisingly close. (To find out the winner, read after the break)
Special kudos to the following kossacks for getting the result correct and for being very close to the final numbers:
propman 55-45
raginillinoisian 55-45
FleetAdmiralJ 55-45
paleo 54-46
Illinois Democrat 54-46
Delaware Dem 51-49
jj32 51-49
Winners of the Viceroy Prize are:
Christian Dem, who predicted a margin of 2-6
IhateBush 52-47
And the Grand Prize for best predictor of Ohio Second District politics is awarded to (drum roll.....)
Retired in Ohio
Congrats to all who participated - our mean average was 5.34 MOV which wasn't too far off either. I hope you enjoyed your mojo prizes!