Jim Traficant may not have resurrected his political career with his long-shot independent bid for the U.S. House this year, but the former Ohio congressman and convicted felon does have something new to brag about.
He performed better percentage wise than any other third-party candidate for the U.S. House this year.
According to an analysis published by the University of Minnesota on Tuesday, Traficant won 16.1 percent of the vote, besting a host of other independent and Tea Party third party candidates.
A woman answering the phone at Traficant’s home told The Daily Caller that the former congressman was unavailable to immediately comment Tuesday morning.
After being convicted on corruption charges in 2002, Traficant was expelled from the House. He served seven years in jail.
This actually isn’t the first time Traficant can boast of being the most successful third party candidate. While still in prison in 2002, he garnered 15.2 percent of the vote, according to the analysis.
One of Traficant’s former aides, Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan, now holds the Ohio seat.