Chapter Twenty-Seven
Now
Election night.
We spend Monday night in Tallahassee, and I end up sleeping alone in my own bed for the first time in weeks.
I actually need the time alone to think, to breathe, even though I miss Chris and Shae’s presence.
As of tomorrow, everything’s out of my hands. I’ve done all I could.
It’s up to the voters now.
The plan is we’ll votefirst thing in the morning, fly into Dulles, and spend the day at our DC headquarters nervously biting our nails before we head to the hotel in the evening for the election party. Elliot will cast his vote in Omaha and fly in to meet us a couple of hours later.
In retrospect, this turns out to be a smart decision. Forecasters predict a cold front sweeping through the nation and down across thenortheastern Gulf of Mexico before it marches into Florida will bring with it a line of nasty weather that could trigger a wave of tornadoes.
That doesn’t bode well for voter turnout, but it’s the hand we’re dealt.
Once we’re back in DC late Tuesday morning, we hunker down and watch election coverage and The Weather Channel. Elliot finally joins us a couple of hours later.
“How do you thinkthis will impact turnout?” Shae asks me.
I grimly shake my head. “I don’t know. Let’s hope we have a big enough buffer that Florida isn’t even in play.” I think we do, but I’m afraid to say it and jinx this.
I’d rather stress over it.
I’m busy coordinating campaign staff in other parts of the country, get out the vote efforts that will hopefully squeeze every available vote in our favor. Wecan’t quit now and get lazy.
As of seven p.m., when the polls start closing on the East Coast, we’ve all moved to set of suites in the hotel where we’re having our election night party. I’m hesitant to say it, but things are looking damned good for us. Initial returns are swinging heavy for us, probably meaning early voting tallies.
I’m starting to think we might have actually pulled this off.
As more polls close, I’m seeing a trend. New York, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Virginia, and Maryland all go blue.
Pennsylvania.
When Texas is called for Shae, just before we’re ready to head downstairs, a wave of elated cheers sweep through all the suites that are part of our block of rooms. The live TV feed from downstairs shows people in the ballroom going nuts. I’m almost dead-certain she’swon now, because we already know California is ours, and even FNB is conceding it will likely go blue.
Still, I refuse to give voice to my hopes despite the raucous cheers that go up with every additional state that’s colored blue.
Before we head downstairs, Christopher pulls me into their bedroom in the suite, closes the door, and hugs me.
“I’m so proud of you, boy,” he whispers, and I can’thelp myself—I grab him and kiss him and for a precious, fleeting moment I savor this.
Us.
After that, I remain hunched over my laptop, hitting refresh on our campaign’s database where our IT guys are pulling fresh data from election officials in real-time as it’s uploaded to states’ sites. I’m vaguely aware of Christopher watching me even as he’s trying to play the role of dutiful husband andchats with people who want to talk to Elliot and Shae.
By eleven p.m., Fullmer has conceded. The Electoral College is clearly Shae’s, even without Hawaii, and even with Florida—of-fucking-course—being too close to call. The massive storm line that swept through the state today wreaked havoc and knocked out power and Internet in large swaths of the state, making it difficult to get polling datafrom some areas, including Orlando, Tampa, and Miami. The state website crashed, too. Several emergency lawsuits are filed, demanding voting be extended as a result.
At least it’s not Susa’s fault. Mother Nature is to blame. And since the lawsuits are bipartisan, Carter’s already called me on my personal cell with a heads-up that Susa’s got attorneys looking at the legality of extending voting,or allowing for provisional ballots to be cast over the next couple of days, and she’ll probably allow it, just to be fair and hopefully avoid accusations of partisan politics.
I’m damned glad we opted to have our election night party here in DC and not in Florida. That would have been a security nightmare. Had we not voted first thing and then flown out, we would’ve been caught up in it. Threetornadoes went through Tallahassee alone, and the airport’s shut down because the power’s out. Neither of our houses has power, but Secret Service said they are undamaged.
My personal cell is going fucking insane, so I set it todo not disturbmode, because there are only three phones that will ring through.
Two of those people are with me tonight.
