Final Jeopardy: U.S. Presidential Elections (10-16-25)
The Final Jeopardy question (10/16/2025) in the category “U.S. Presidential Elections” was:
The worst showing by an incumbent candidate in an election was when this man came in third with just 8 electoral votes
New champ Delaney O’Dea, an undergrad student from Santa Monica, CA, won $18,600 yesterday. In Game 2, her opponents are: Cindy del Rosario, a hospice & palliative care nurse from Denver, CO; and Dave Keder, a tutor from Durham, NC.
Round 1 Categories: That Guy’s the Worst – Around the Bathroom – Missing Links – Bible Bites – They Call Him Boss – Internet Celebrities
Dave found the Jeopardy! round Daily Double in “That Guy’s the Worst” under the $600 clue on the 11th pick of the round. He was in second place with $2,000, $600 less than Cindy’s lead. Dave bet $2,000 and he was RIGHT.
This 15th century Walachian Prince was such a thug that his nickname refers to his favorite way of killing people show
Dave finished in the lead with $6,000. Cindy was second with $5,400 and Delaney was last with $4,400. All clues were shown.
Round 2 Categories: Bodies of Water – 19th Century Drama – The Doctor Will See You Now – Fiendish Entertainment – Pleas – Thank You
Dave found the first Daily Double in “Pleas” under the $1,200 clue on the 14th pick of the round. He was in the lead with $8,400 now, $1,000 more than Cindy in second place. Dave bet $2,500 and drew a blank so he was WRONG.
After 62 mos. in prison, Wikileaks’ Julian Assange pled guilty & was sentenced to 62 mos. in prison, aka these 2 words show
Cindy got the last Daily Double in “19th Century Drama” under the $800 clue with 8 clues left after it. In second place with $11,000, she had $200 less than Delaney’s lead. Cindy bet $4,000 and she was RIGHT.
Robert Montgomery Bird noted that his own “The Gladiator” about this revolt leader was from the same year as Nat Turner’s revolt show
Cindy finished in the lead with $16,600. Delaney was in second place with $11,600 and Dave was last with $6,700. All clues were shown.
Only ONE of the contestants got Final Jeopardy! right.
WHO IS WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT?
Professor Peri E. Arnold’s Miller Center article on Taft’s campaigns and elections sheds a lot of light on why and how the rift between Taft and Theodore Roosevelt (TR) helped Woodrow Wilson win the White House in 1912. TR helped Taft get elected in 1908, when he could have won a second term for himself. Their friendship turned sour when Taft failed to “Take Advice From Theodore,” as one columnist joked T.A.F.T. stood for. When Taft won the Republican nomination for President, TR formed the Progressive (Bull Moose) Party. “On election day…Wilson compiled 435 electoral votes to 88 for Roosevelt and 8 for Taft.”
An old FJ!: PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS: He was the last sitting president to run for re-election & finish third in the Electoral College
Dave thought it was Hoover. He lost $6,000 and finished with $700.
Delaney went with John Adams. That cost her $10,000 and left her with $1,600.
Cindy got it right. She bet $6,601 and won the game with $23,201. Cindy del Rosario is the new Jeopardy! champ.
A triple stumper from each round:
BIBLE BITES ($1000) In Luke’s gospel, Jesus goes to the home of Simon, part of this Jewish group that often opposed Jesus; but lo, they dined together
FIENDISH ENTERTAINMENT ($800) Abbey the succubus & a demon named George plague a priest & psychologist, living up to the title of this TV show
2 years ago: Only ONE of the players got this FJ in “NAMES”
The name Jennifer is an alteration of this name that in early Welsh literature belonged to the “first lady of the island” show
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Strong game, good players. Cindy seemed unsure of herself on many of her responses, but she was darn smart and deserved to win. Delaney made a strong comeback in 2nd round to stay in touch. I did way better in round one than two. Blanked on all the DDs, although the first two now seem pretty easy. Had no clue on Final, said Teddy R. Shocked myself when I got the Hot Mess influencer. The Colleen country was a gimme.
For some reason, the game just disappeared from my DVR. I had to take a nap, but I heard the game sounds on a low volume. When I later went to view the game, it wasn’t there, and the recording log didn’t have any record of it. Who knows? So, all I have is from the recap.
1/3 on DD and got FJ. That second one seemed to be worded in a weird way. “Sentenced to 62 months, also known as” this? By that wording, it’s not factually correct.
But, I remembered the Bull Moose party and Taft. As far as 300lb US Presidents go, at least he and Clinton were honest about it. I won’t say the other, but you can probably guess.