Generally a write-in campaign is an act of futility surpassed only by that of Sisyphus eternally rolling his stone up the mountain, only to see it crash to the bottom of the slope one more time.

Gordon Marburger’s write-in campaign for a spot on the Republican ticket next autumn took 45.5 percent of the vote. That’s still a losing number and I know that moral victories are a dime a dozen, but I also know that every prize worth winning has challenges along the way and some challenges have a silver lining. This 45.5 percent defeat means the incumbent candidate is very beatable, and Marburger probably would have won had his name been on the ballot. It goes to show you that Metcalfe’s paranoia is well founded and that his tactics, if anything, were inappropriately reserved.

Round two is about to start. It should be a dandy.