Kudos for Kaine: Virginia Senator is Top Speller

Not nonpartisan - it was "nonpareil" that sealed the victory for Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine.

Kaine was the winner at The National Press Club's held its Centennial Spelling Bee on Wednesday. The event commemorated a 1913 showdown between lawmakers and reporters. Back then, an Ohio congressman emerged victorious and President Woodrow Wilson was among the attendees.

This time, the the individual title again went to the politicians, as Kaine  topped Politico's Rebecca Sinderbrand in the final round.  

"It's kind of strange, but I'm glad I don't have to do it again for 100 years," Kaine told HuffPost,

 Others participating in the bee - Huffington Post editorial director Howard Fineman,  Fox News' Ed Henry, CBS News' Major Garrett, BuzzFeed's Kate Nocera, Roll Call's Meredith Shiner, The New York Times' Ashley Southall, The Washington Post's Karen Tumulty and Reuters' Toby Zakaria rounded out the press side. 

Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA) also took part, along with Sens. Chris Coons (D-Del.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), and Reps. Matt Cartwright (D-Pa.), Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), Ted Deutch (D-Fla.) and Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.).

Kaine said he was doing more than representing his lawmaker colleagues -- he "wanted to do well for oppressed, poor male spellers everywhere."

"I just feel like men, we just have such a poor track record of success in the general field of spelling and orthography that I thought it would be a wonderful opportunity to kind of break a glass ceiling in a way and show that men can spell," Kaine joked.

Read more details in the Huffington Post.