Charles Darwin proves popular choice in Georgia House race

He’s no longer among the living, but Charles Darwin still proved to be a popular choice on the ballot in Georgia.

The so-called father of evolution, who died in 1882, received nearly 4,000 write-in votes against Rep. Paul Broun (R-Ga.), according to The Associated Press.

Earlier this fall, the creationist congressman called evolution, embryology and the Big Bang theory “lies straight from the pit of hell.”

Speaking at a church banquet in September, Broun said, “It’s lies to try to keep me and all the folks who are taught that from understanding that they need a savior.”

Despite the push from his critics for voters to write in Darwin’s name, Broun, who was running unopposed, won reelection by a landslide.

The British On the Origin of Species author wasn’t the only unusual candidate to earn support on Tuesday. The website Constitution Daily writes that Hank the Cat, a feline who was running in the Virginia Senate race, might have earned as many as 6,000 votes. But Hank’s votes didn’t outnumber those for former Gov. Tim Kaine (D), who won the Senate seat in a tight race against former Sen. George Allen (R-Va.).