not quite

As remarkable as it is that this guy got so many votes, I don't think I've ever seen someone who lost by 20 percantage points described as "nearly defeating" anyone.

Indeed. If this was a narrow victory, then the United Kingdom general election, 1983 in which the Labour Party suffered what is generally regarded as a crushing defeat ought to be reassessed by Wikinews as a virtual tie, since they were only 15 percentage points behind Thatcher's Conservatives!