Journalists triumphed over lawmakers in the 2023 Press vs. Politicians Spelling Bee at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.  Amy Wang, above, a national politics reporter at The Washington Post and defending champion, won for a second consecutive year.

In the fifth and final round, reports NPC, which focused on previous championship words in the Scripps National Spelling Bee, “the contest narrowed to two journalists, along with a single politician. Those still standing were Wang, James Graff, a justice and judiciary editor at The Wall Street Journal, and Rep. Don Beyer, D-VA.

“”They are looking up a hard one,” Graff said before hearing the first word he got wrong. “Manicotti” wasn’t the word to get him out, but rather “Ecuelle.”

“But the final round, titled “Gibberish,” proved equally challenging for wordsmiths Wang and Beyer when they each spelled a word wrong.

“The first word Beyer spelled wrong was “Estafette,” which means if he spelled another word wrong, Wang would win the bee.

“Wang incorrectly spelled “Niminy-Piminy,” and Beyer misspelled “Pampootie.” Moments after the bell was tapped, Beyer shook hands with Wang, accepting a defeat.”

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