For whatever reason, this was the midterm election that felt like a presidential election. I know I whined about election fatigue last week, but when the day came, it felt like a momentous occasion, and I stayed up, flipping around the local news channels and refreshing election websites, waiting for Nevada’s apparently-last-in-the-nation results.
I wasn’t alone in feeling that way. Here in Washoe County, the swing county in a swing state, it was the largest turnout ever for a midterm election. The excitement was partly because we had big statewide races on the ballot this year with national implications.
And I’ve got to say: I never liked Adam Laxalt more than I did while watching his concession speech, which struck me as humble and sincere. Of course, it’s a lot easier to like a guy when you’re not actively worrying about the questionable decision-making he’ll bring to the governor’s office.
I also enjoyed what I saw of Jacky Rosen’s victory speech, but my internet cut out in the middle of the speech. I called, and an automated voice told me that Spectrum was doing routine updates and apologized for intermittent outages—blah, blah, blah—and I guess midnight on a Tuesday isn’t the worst time to schedule something like that, but on election night? C’mon, dummies.
Still, here’s a neat realization: Both of Nevada’s senators are now women. Nevada’s congressional delegation, like the Nevada Assembly, now has a female majority.
And remember a couple of weeks ago when I predicted that there would be a slew of national stories about Nevadans electing a dead pimp to the state assembly? I’ve seen like eight already.