Players choose Watts as 'Veepstakes' winner

Oklahoma congressman beats out 31 others in online contest

July 12, 2000
Web posted at: 4:39 p.m. EDT (2039 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Oklahoma Rep. J.C. Watts, the chairman of the House Republican Conference and the sole black Republican in the chamber, has won the allpolitics.com Veepstakes, an interactive game where players picked their favorite candidate for the party's vice presidential nomination.

Rep. J.C. Watts

Voting in the final round ended Wednesday. Watts easily beat out retired Gen. Colin Powell, 59 percent to 41 percent, ending a contest that began in mid-June with 32 candidates. That number was cut in half by elimination voting, round by round, until only Watts remained.

Watts was seeded a mere fourth in his group -- the Southern bracket -- behind Sen. Connie Mack of Florida, Sen. Fred Thompson of Tennessee and Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating. He beat fellow Oklahoma Rep. Steve Largent in the first round, topped Mack and Thompson to win his region, then beat Rep. John Kasich, R-Ohio, in the semifinals to make it to the matchup against Powell.

In a similar game in 1996, allpolitics.com readers chose Jack Kemp from 32 candidates. Kemp went on to get the nod from the party's presidential nominee, former Sen. Bob Dole, as the GOP vice presidential pick.

Allpolitics.com will begin the Democratic round of Veepstakes voting in the next few days.