© 2026 Connecticut Public

FCC Public Inspection Files:
WEDH · WEDN · WEDW · WEDY
WEDW-FM · WNPR · WPKT · WRLI-FM
Public Files Contact · ATSC 3.0 FAQ
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

NPR Bracket, Round 1 Results: Top Seeds Advance, 'The Mooch' With An Upset

Anthony Scaramucci, whose tenure at the White House was short but attention-getting, made a splash in the first round of voting in the NPR Top Political Story of the Year Bracket.
Chip Somodevilla
/
Getty Images
Anthony Scaramucci, whose tenure at the White House was short but attention-getting, made a splash in the first round of voting in the NPR Top Political Story of the Year Bracket.

It was a pretty predictable first round of voting in the NPR Top Political Story of the Year Bracket.

The top seeds all advanced easily. The only upset was 10-seeded Anthony Scaramucci's 10 days in the White House breezing past the far-more important New York Truck Attack, which was a 7-seed.

But "The Mooch's" staying power in the bracket might turn out similarly to his stay in the White House — make a splash, but short-lived. That's because he's up against the 2-seed Charlottesville violence in the next round. (Charlottesville advanced easily, 97-3, over Majority GOP Support for marijuana legalization, a first.)

There was one tie by percentage, No. 7 TPP torn up vs. No. 10 Trump says "Pocahontas" in front of Navajo Code Talkers. It turned out 50-50, but there was an odd number of votes, and Twitter says TPP won (though we were unable to see raw-vote totals.)

Voting commences again at noon. Log onto Twitter and vote here.

Here's the bracket with Round 1 results:

NPR's Top Political Story of the Year bracket with Round One results filled in. Voting in Round Two begins Wednesday at noon ET.
Domenico Montanaro / NPR
/
NPR
NPR's Top Political Story of the Year bracket with Round One results filled in. Voting in Round Two begins Wednesday at noon ET.

What to watch in Round 2

1 Trump Inaugurated vs. 9 Gold Star Mom: All the No. 1 seeds advanced easily, but Trump Inaugurated showed some weakness only beating Trump Looks at Eclipse, 72-28. And it's against a strong 9 seed Wednesday, Trump vs. Gold Star Mom. It did quite well, beating out No. 8 Priebus Out of White House, 64-36.

Some other possible close ones:

5 Deportations/DACA vs. 4 Women's March
5 McCain thumbs down vs. 4 Trump vs. NFL/black athletes
6 Travel ban vs. 3 Gutting Obamacare
5 Doug Jones' win vs. 4 The End of Net-Neutrality
6 Donald Trump Jr's email revelations vs. 3 Gun violence
7 Transgender ban vs. "Alternative Facts"
6 North Korea missile tests/"Rocket Man" vs. Gorsuch to the Supreme Court

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Domenico Montanaro is a senior political editor/correspondent for the Washington Desk

Federal funding is gone.

Congress has eliminated all funding for public media.

That means $2.1 million per year that Connecticut Public relied on to deliver you news, information, and entertainment programs you enjoyed is gone.

The future of public media is in your hands.

All donations are appreciated, but we ask in this moment you consider starting a monthly gift as a Sustainer to help replace what’s been lost.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

Federal funding is gone.

Congress has eliminated all funding for public media.

That means $2.1 million per year that Connecticut Public relied on to deliver you news, information, and entertainment programs you enjoyed is gone.

The future of public media is in your hands.

All donations are appreciated, but we ask in this moment you consider starting a monthly gift as a Sustainer to help replace what’s been lost.

Related Content