It appears that Connie Mack IV won't even get to return to D.C. as a member of the House spouse's club. His wife, Mary Bono Mack, served in a House district representing Palm Springs, California, and after coming up short in the early vote tally, local media is now painting her Democratic challenger Raul Ruiz as the likely winner.
After marrying in 2007, the pair became the first married couple to serve concurrently in the U.S. House together.
Mack, of course, lost big time in his effort to unseat Florida's Democratic Senator Bill Nelson. While Floridians still have no idea who won our 29 electoral college votes, the Senate race was called soon after polls closed. Nelson prevailed by an almost 13 point lead, much larger than most polls indicated.
Meanwhile, Bono Mack also faced a tough challenger in Rual Ruiz. With 100 percent of precincts reporting, CNN says that Ruiz leads Bono Mack 51 to 49 percent. Media is all but ready to official proclaim that Bono Mack has been booted from congress.
Bono Mack was the fourth wife of entertainer turned politician Sonny Bono (most famous for being one half of Sonny and Cher -- and Cher had a very good night last night, for what its worth). She took over his congressional seat after his untimely death in 1998, and has held it ever since. She married Mack, who had represented Florida's 14th district since 2005, in a ceremony in 2007. The marriage made history, as the two were the first married couple to serve together in the House.
We're not 100 percent positive, but they may also now be the first married couple to lose election to the federal legislature on the same night.
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