Canberra public servant Jake Winter has won the bragging rights that go with being the winner of Crikey’s Election Tipping Competition.

Judges had to use the competition’s tie-break question after Jake, a former staff member for ACT Labor Senator Kate Lundy, tied with three others in nominating how many House of Representatives and Senate seats each party would win at the Federal Election.

Equal second were Tim Hollo, Robb Preston and Karl Smith who will each receive a year’s free subscription to Crikey as will the equal fifth place getters Jason Davis and Stephen Monk.

Along with the bragging rights as Crikey’s champion psephologist, Jake Winter will receive $250 worth of wine from www.glug.com.

An honourable mention should go to ABC Insider‘s host Barrie Cassidy who, unlike most of his press gallery colleagues at least had the courage to put his predictions on the record, finished only two points from the winner in seventh place.

Somewhat shamefacedly, yours truly reports that he finished well back in 188th position having got the Western Australian result horribly wrong.

Collectively the Crikey readership proved to be extremely accurate forecasters. The median prediction for the House of Representatives was Labor winning 83 seats to 65 for the Coalition and two Independents which is what finally happened. On a state-by-state basis the Crikey entrants had Labor winning one more seat in Western Australia than it achieved and one less in Queensland.

Not a bad effort by any measure and certainly right up with any of the pollsters as a guide to the outcome.