Ok, I misspoke AGAIN (sorry everyone -- this is so confusing and weird... this time I actually understood the situation but just explained it poorly). Party leaders are meeting two days after the election to vote for who takes the position of congressman for the next term; the election is for who is in the position to fulfill Payne's term (aka til January). But the election on Tuesday still means very little to nearly nothing -- the person who wins that election will only be in the position for a very short time before being replaced by someone who will serve for two years and be the "real" congress member. It is, as noted previously, a mess.
Ok, I misspoke AGAIN (sorry everyone -- this is so confusing and weird... this time I actually understood the situation but just explained it poorly). Party leaders are meeting two days after the election to vote for who takes the position of congressman for the next term; the election is for who is in the position to fulfill Payne's term (aka til January). But the election on Tuesday still means very little to nearly nothing -- the person who wins that election will only be in the position for a very short time before being replaced by someone who will serve for two years and be the "real" congress member. It is, as noted previously, a mess.