Jean Schmidt (R-OH), our recently crowned champion in Congressional Catfight, is even more formidable than we thought. Several of you pointed out that she’s a veteran marathoner. Now we have the proof, from an Ohio reader: MORE »

Ladies and gentlemen, we’ve reached the end of the road in Congressional Catfight. The competition began two weeks ago, with eight tough contenders, who were later joined by five wild card entries. All in all, 13 fierce fighters. Only one could emerge victorious. MORE »

We’re about to close the polls in Congressional Catfight: Harris vs. Schmidt, and it’s looking like curtains for Katherine. “Mean Jean” has a sizable lead at this late hour. MORE »

The polls are now open in the final round of Congressional Catfight: Katherine Harris versus Jean Schmidt. You can cast your vote by clicking here. MORE »

All good things must come to an end — and that includes Congressional Catfight. We’ve milked this competition for all it’s worth, and now it’s time to crown a victor. MORE »

Well, that was easy. We’ve had some really close calls here at Congressional Catfight, including one race that required a runoff. But this latest Catfight — a battle royal between five fighters, to determine who would take the wild card slot and face Katherine Harris — resulted in a decisive victory.

We threw five worthy contenders into the ring: Corrine Brown (D-FL), the “bat shit crazy” rep from the mean streets of Jacksonville’s North Side; Barbara Cubin (R-WY), the ex-cheerleader known for her “wack paranoia” and penis-shaped cookies; Tom Tancredo (R-CO), the immigration-obsessed nutjob; Bernie Sanders (I-VT), everyone’s favorite Vermont socialist; and Jean Schmidt (R-OH), the firearms-carrying, flag-jumpsuit-wearing, coward-calling congresswoman better known as “Mean Jean.”

The result? Jean Schmidt, in a landslide. “Mean Jean” received 60 percent of the vote — more votes than the other four competitors combined, and over three times as many as her nearest competitor, Tom Tancredo. Schmidt has scratched and clawed her way into the final round of Congressional Catfight. (For those of you who are curious, the full vote tally is available after the jump.)

Check back later today, when we’ll open the polls in Congressional Catfight: Harris vs. Schmidt. We’re predicting a close and ugly battle between these two tough ladies of the House.

Earlier: Congressional Catfight: The Nominees for the Wild Card Spot

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Last week, we solicited your nominations for a wild card contender, to take take on the winner of Congressional Catfight: Harris vs. Pelosi (polls closing soon; to vote, click here). You submitted lots of excellent nominations, by email and by comment, and we winnowed the field to five contenders.

Here’s the poll:

Gawker Media polls require Javascript; if you’re viewing this in an RSS reader, click through to view in your Javascript-enabled web browser.

You may already know which one of these folks you’d like to vote for. But if you’re undecided and in need of more information, excerpts from nomination squibs appear after the jump.

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Just a very brief reminder: we are still soliciting more questions for our Anonymous Hill Staffer to answer. So if you have one, lay it on us. That out of the way, let’s look at our favorite comments from this week — click on ‘em for context. MORE »

Right, it’s settled, we totally love Republicans. MORE »

Here at Wonkette, we have a weakness for stupid stories — and this one is pretty darn stupid. A regular correspondent wrote us: MORE »

• Washington Whispers: John Kerry hunted birds, grilled meat, and watched football on male-bonding trip to Nebraska. . . Conservatives say Alito and Roberts are not enough to overturn Roe. . . Blogs excite Sen. Ted Kennedy but he doesn’t use a computer. . . Friends push Dick Armey as the next treasury secretary. [USN&WR]
• Inside the Beltway: DNC’s anti-Rep. Jean Schmidt billboards were rejected by ad agencies. [WT]
• Page Six: Jenna Bush reportedly lost her wallet –with her ID and $1,000 in cash– while trying to lose a suitor. [NYP]
• Lloyd Grove’s Lowdown: Is Arthur Sulzberger Jr. the next to go at the Times? [NYDN]
• Rush & Molloy: Condoleezza Rice is granted access to Mozart’s piano. . . Al Gore set to meet-up with college roommate Tommy Lee Jones. [NYDN]