Simon Rosenberg’s crystal ball was crystal clear; Williams second

The NDN’s Simon Rosenberg triumphed in The Hill’s 2008 election prediction contest, having said earlier this week that Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) would attract 353 electoral votes.

{mosads}At press time, Obama had 349 electoral votes, with the winner in Missouri and North Carolina still undetermined. Rosenberg predicted Obama would win the popular vote 53-46. Obama is leading, 52-46.

Rosenberg accurately forecast that Senate Democrats would fall short of 60 seats and would pick up 20 in the House.

Some House races have not been called, but Democrats are expected to bolster their majority by about 20 seats.

Conservative commentator Armstrong Williams, the 2004 crystal ball champion, was a close second to Rosenberg. Williams, a contributor to The Hill’s Pundits Blog, predicted that Obama would get at least 325 electoral votes and Democrats would pick up seven in the Senate and 22 in the House.

MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough won the The Hill’s contest in 2006.