The networks have called the state for McCain, but as TPM notes, only 87% of the precincts are in. What gives? Best anyone can tell, the Washington GOP waited until McCain had a tiny lead, and then... just stopped counting. What, did they think no one would notice?
Huckabee is justifiably annoyed, and has announced plans to send his lawyers out to find out just what is going on. The state party claims it will start counting again on Monday morning, but still... if they aren't done counting, why did they stop? And more importantly, why did they call the race in McCain's favor?
Its almost as if the Republican Party was hellbent on convincing the nation that it likes to rig elections.
UPDATE: Josh Marshall:
In terms of consequence, Bush v. Gore it ain't. This is a relatively small contest in a nomination campaign that appears to be over. But this is something you'd expect either from Soviet history or a farcical passage in a Faulkner novel. And let's not forget the context. Huckabee starts the day with a blowout win in Kansas. That evening he gets the largest number of votes in Louisiana. Then in the third contest he's neck and neck with John McCain and looks like he may win all three contests of the day -- a shut-out for the all-but-declared nominee. Then as it's going down to the wire, the head of the state party decides he's seen enough and calls it for McCain.Here at TPM, as we watched the rate of the reporting slow to halt on Saturday evening, we joked amongst ourselves that with McCain already getting beaten by Huckabee twice that day maybe the organizers of the election figured that if they just held out long enough people would just forget they'd held a caucus. But as it got later and later we started to wonder if it wasn't a joke.
I still find it pretty hard to imagine these bozos would try something quite this brazen. And it may well be an electoral tempest in a teapot. But this one looks and quacks like a duck. So someone should give it a much closer look.
You won't even believe what happened next. Huckabee's lawyer called the Washington State GOP chair demanding an explanation, and when he realized that he couldn't provide one, he hung up! This really is some serious banana republic nonsense.
UPDATE II: It just gets better and better.
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