Elections Blog

Everyone, meet Isaac Wood, a student at the University of Virginia and the state's master political prognosticator. Wait. That title is already taken by U-Va. uber-pundit Larry Sabato. But more on that later. Wood is the winner of the Stalemate Invitational, having picked June 16 as the day the legislature would reach a deal on the budget. He did that on March 22 and bested dozens of others who claimed to know about Virginia politics. Wood, it turns out, is not even a Virginian. He's from North Carolina who just finished his freshman year at U.Va. In an email claiming his prize, he wrote: "Just in case you are wondering why a North Carolinian cared at all about the Virginia budget stalemate, I go to U-Va. I can't wait to brag to Mr. Sabato about the 'clarity' of my own 'crystal ball'." That's a reference to Sabato's Crystal Ball newsletter,