The results are in. Here is your 2023 Captain Springfield.

Another 10,000-plus votes were cast in the last 24 hours, and the trend that emerged at the very start of the competition continued.

Googey the Bookmarx cat took 71% of the votes, more than 8,000 total, to become the eighth Captain Springfield.

We interviewed Bookmarx owner Josh Arnett, Googey's human, who provided answers on behalf of the winner.

"I was shocked during the nominating process to see how many nominations he received and it just snowballed from there, but it wasn't until the voting first came in that I realized how much support he engenders," Arnett said. "I probably shouldn't have been because Googey has the advantage of meeting thousands of people every year, and even dog people leave saying 'That cat is alright by me.'"

It was a strong showing from reporter Jackie Rehwald, who just happened to come up against an unstoppable force.

"I feel so honored to have been nominated and to advance all the way to the finals," she said. "I’m sending a big congratulations to Googey and his family at Bookmarx. I’m planning to visit the store in the next few days to meet the cat who captured the hearts of so many. This week has been a blast."

She also thanked people for the support she received throughout the process.

"The people who nominated me were mostly folks who volunteer and help the unsheltered population in Springfield. Some of those nominations came from people who I met when they were homeless, but they are now housed," she said. "And they nominated me because of my reporting on the unsheltered community and the issues they face. To be nominated by these people really made me feel good about the work I have been doing for the past several years."

Both Arnett and Rehwald said there were many candidates in the field who would have been worthy winners.

"News-Leader readers nominated some really terrific people this year," Rehwald said. "I would have liked to have seen Pastor Christie Love become Captain. She is such a tireless advocate for those in need. She’d be an amazing Captain Springfield."

For Arnett, he said it was difficult to be up against people whose contributions are so impactful in Springfield.

"With the nature of the contest, it was a bit uncomfortable to ask people to vote for Googey when he could potentially be up against someone who does so much important work in the community like Christie Love, and we felt the conflict with everyone Googey has faced because each candidate was deserving and would also make a great Captain Springfield," he said. "That said, the Googey War Room was ready with a take-no-prisoners campaign if we were ever to face Nick Reed."

(Supporters of both Googey and Reed tossed barbs at each other online during the contest.)

Some were concerned about the seriousness of the contest should Googey win, and while the competition is mostly meant to be fun, Arnett hopes to use the platform for good.

"Googey has many causes he cares about. Even though he has been a bookstore employee for many years, Googey struggled to learn to read. He would like to partner with local organizations to promote literacy among humans, cats and Googeys," he said. "As the face of Bookmarx and Springfield as a whole, Googey wants to use his voice to help his mammalian brothers and sisters. We have reached out to Watching Over Whiskers about working together to ensure every cat gets a home as nice as Bookmarx."

The News-Leader will work with those involved to set up a transfer of the cape when the parties are available. In this case, the News-Leader is working on finding a cape that's a more suitable size for the new winner.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: A first for Captain Springfield as Googey the BookMarx cat wins cape