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During Wednesday’s edition of Anderson Cooper 360, fill-in host and former Obama administration flack Jim Sciutto highlighted a race that was a political junkie’s dream: A race so close it would be decided by drawing a name out of a hat. But the race for Virginia’s 94th district was consequential because a win for the Democrat would change the control of the House of Delegates. Of course, Sciutto sided with the Democrat and seriously wondered if someone was trying to still the win away.
“After a recount, it appeared that Democratic candidate Shelly Simonds won a seat in the Virginia House of Delegates by just one vote. At least until a panel of judges awarded her opponent, the incumbent David Yancy, one last last-minute ballot. That left the election in a tie,” Sciutto reported as he led into the segment and while sounding a little letdown.
After explaining how the tie meant a name was set to be drawn out of a hat earlier in the day, Sciutto sounded a bit more cheerful when he noted how “that process was delayed, however, because Simonds filed a motion to ask the judges to reconsider their decision on that final mystery ballot.” And instead of bringing on political experts to discuss the interesting case, he actually reached out and had Simonds on the show to make the case for her victory.
CNN put a picture of the tie making ballot on the screen. The image showed where the voter filled in both bubbles for the Republican incumbent, David Yancy, and Democrat Simonds. But in an apparent effort to correct the ballot, the voter put a slash over Simonds’ bubble.
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