JonBenet's Dad Loses Election

The father of slain child beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey lost his bid Tuesday for a state House seat, finishing a close second in the GOP primary despite widespread media coverage of his campaign.

John Ramsey picked up 24 percent of the vote and finished about 500 votes behind attorney Kevin Elsenheimer in the rural northern Michigan district.

A cloud of suspicion has hung over Ramsey and his wife since the 1997 slaying of 6-year-old JonBenet, but no one has ever been charged. The district attorney and a federal judge in Colorado have said it is likelier that an intruder was responsible, as the parents insist.

Ramsey did not shy away from the JonBenet issue on the campaign trail, and the notoriety of the case helped give him nearly 100 percent name recognition in the district.

Ramsey's presence transformed the campaign into a high-profile race that has drawn coverage from the likes of CNN and People magazine.

The Ramseys have had a summer place since 1992 in this Lake Michigan tourist town about 230 miles northwest of Detroit, and became full-time residents last fall.

"I think people are definitely voting for the local person," Elsenheimer said as the results came in.

Elsenheimer will be favored in November in the GOP-leaning district.

By John Flesher