Nixon in 1974, addressing the nation about the Watergate tapes. (National Archives and Records Administration)

Thousands of votes have been cast so far in the first round of our poll to determine who the Washington Nationals should add to their lineup of racing presidents, should reports that the team plans to add a fifth contender prove correct.

Yesterday, we bracketed the 40 U.S. presidents (counting Grover Cleveland twice) not currently featured in the Presidents’ Races into four brackets—primaries, if you will. And, as a bit of fun, we added a fifth group composed of fictional presidents.

After one day of voting, we have received more than 4,200 votes, and the polls are open until 11:59 p.m. Sunday. But we already have a few early leaders, and the one leading the pack is not exactly who we expected. Of all the real-life presidents, none is doing as well as the 37th.

That’s right. Of all the presidents who have never raced at Nationals Park, the one people most want to see is Richard Milhouse Nixon.

Now, before you blanch at the thought of the man whose 1972 campaign included a burglarizing of the Democratic Party’s headquarters at the Watergate trotting around the Nationals Park warning track, there is a solid case to be made for Nixon.

For starters, should Theodore Roosevelt win next week, as rumored, it would be poor dramatic form for the Nationals to return Teddy to his losing ways. Instead, the Presidents’ Races will need a new patsy, and who better than a villain like Tricky Dick? And, to boot, Nixon was a fan of D.C. baseball, at least before the Washington Senators packed up and became the Texas Rangers:

Nixon at the Washington Senators’ first home game of 1969. He even brought his glove. (Robert L. Knudsen/White House)

But if the memory of the man whom an old Vulcan proverb says was the only one who could go to China gives you pause, consider casting a vote for the presidents trailing Nixon. Dwight Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy are doing well, as are Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Andrew Jackson. In the fourth bracket, Barack Obama is currently in third place, trailing John Adams and Ronald Reagan.

Now, as for those fictional presidents, it’s all Nixon there, too. Well, technically it’s the severed and preserved head of Nixon that lords over Earth in the 31st century on Futurama, but he’s even beating Kang.

Several readers left comments and emails, however, that the poll of fictional presidents did not include Josiah Bartlet from The West Wing. This was not an oversight; it was a deliberate choice. Frankly, no one wants the Presidents’ Race to include a pedagogical aside full of Sorkin drivel like “By the way, C.J., did you know that the first president to run on a dirt path was…” Ugh, awful.

Oh, and to the guy who wrote that “being a D.C. resident virtually necessitates a strong love of The West Wing“? Get a grip.

Also, we’re still pissed about The Newsroom.