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Best Bracket in Congress? Maybe, but It’s Tough to Top Romney

Deutch's bracket is in the top 2 percent in the ESPN contest. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)
Deutch's bracket is in the top 2 percent in the ESPN contest. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)

After correctly calling each of the teams in the Final Four, Rep. Ted Deutch, D-Fla., was bragging on April 4 — deservedly so — about his NCAA bracket.  

“Best bracket in Congress?” the Florida congressman asked on Twitter, noting his ESPN Tournament Challenge entry was ranked in the top 2 percent of the contest’s almost 12 million entries worldwide.

Unfortunately for Deutch, that’s probably as good as it’s going to get: He correctly picked Duke over Michigan State, but he also incorrectly picked Kentucky over Wisconsin — and had Kentucky winning the championship, which obviously isn’t going to happen.  

Still, the Florida lawmaker had a much better year than the master of “Barack-etology,” the president himself (who is down around the 40th percentile this year).  

But the gold standard for political hoops prognosticators in 2015 is undoubtedly Mitt Romney — the 2012 GOP presidential contender’s bracket is, amazingly, in the 99.98th percentile in the ESPN contest.  

“He’s got more time to scout these teams out,” Deutch told CQ Roll Call Monday with a chuckle.  

The Big Ten alum (he’s a graduate of Michigan) said he’d be rooting for Wisconsin over Duke in the title game.  

And he’s not letting the success in the ESPN contest go to his head — in the office pool, he said, his bracket’s in last place.  


The 114th: CQ Roll Call’s Guide to the New Congress


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