Meet Worst Candidate of Midterms

Last week, he lost an election for the Senate. This week, Iowa congressman Bruce Braley wins the distinction of being named the "worst candidate" of the midterms by the Fix blog at the Washington Post. The reason wasn't policy, either. No, the Democrat lost to Republican Joni Ernst through "sheer force of personality," writes Chris Cillizza. The biggest flub came early in the campaign when he was caught on tape referring to popular Sen. Chuck Grassley as "a farmer from Iowa without a law degree."

Insulting farmers in a farm state was not a wise move. Nor was missing 75% of veterans-related hearings at a time when the VA scandal was prominent, or his angry reaction to neighbors whose chickens wandered onto his vacation property. Simply put, voters just "didn't like" him, writes Cillizza. And given the circumstances—Braley had lots of national support in a winnable, crucial race—his flop earns him "worst candidate" honors. Click for the full post (and a fuller explanation of those wandering chickens).