Rep. Jason Saine disqualified from “Worst Politicians in NC” tournament for buying votes
RALEIGH — State Rep. Jason Saine has been officially disqualified from Progress NC Action’s second annual “Worst Politicians in North Carolina” tournament for buying votes, as North Carolina Republicans try to steal yet another election.
Throughout the month of March, Progress NC Action has been conducting daily Twitter polls to determine which North Carolina politician is considered the absolute worst. The tournament started with 64 contenders on March 21, and has slowly been whittled down to the “Sleazy Sixteen,” the “Egregious Eight,” and now the “Foul Four.”
Unfortunately, it seems Rep. Jason Saine has decided to rig the tournament by buying poll votes in order to win, fraudulently propelling himself to victory against better-known politicians such as House Speaker Tim Moore and U.S. Reps. Ted Budd and Virginia Foxx. Currently, Saine holds a 74%-26% lead over Mark Meadows, leader of the ultra-right-wing House Freedom Caucus. And while this in and of itself does not prove Saine is stuffing the ballot box, the fact that Saine’s matchup has received over 800 votes — hundreds more than any other #WorstNCPols matchup until now — raises clear suspicions of foul play. Even more suspicious is the fact that roughly 700 of those votes were cast between 11pm Wednesday and 7am Thursday.
When accused of fraudulent ballot-stuffing on Wednesday, Saine all but admitted the fraud, replying, “Trolls gotta troll.” (It should be noted that this exchange happened while the House was in the middle of debating legislation that requires NC sheriffs to cooperate with ICE detainers, which Saine apparently cared less about than the results of a Twitter poll) This mountain of evidence leaves Progress NC Action no choice but to disqualify Saine from the tournament, and advance Mark Meadows to the championship matchup in his place.
“Clearly, stealing elections is what North Carolina Republicans do best,” said Logan Smith, Progress NC Action communications director and #WorstNCPols tournament director. “However, unlike the recent GOP election fraud in the 9th Congressional District, we don’t need to hold a week-long hearing to call this one back. If Jason Saine were truly the worst politician in North Carolina, it would be decided by the people of North Carolina instead of a relatively little-known House member who feels the need to buy votes in a Twitter poll to make himself feel important.”
The #WorstNCPols championship matchup between Mark Meadows and last year’s champion, Senate leader Phil Berger, will begin Thursday afternoon and conclude on Friday. A trophy will be awarded to the winner, with the award ceremony to be announced at a later date.
