Covering election night is a lot of hurry-up-and-wait, and the 2022 midterms were no exception, but I’ll give you the express version. After a full day at my day job last Tuesday, I went to Stage AE, the campaign night headquarters of the Fetterman for Senate campaign to await the results —along with a few hundred other reporters from local, national, and international news outlets (I overheard a UK reporter recording a segment where he referred to “leftenant-governor Fetterman” lol). Polls closed at 8 p.m. and the crowd of Fetterman supporters and staff settled in. Fast-forward to 11 p.m. and the crowd had thinned somewhat (many, I later realized, had moved to the bar for some liquid courage as CNN and MSNBC election night coverage alternated on the big TVs), and there had been no sign of John Fetterman himself, although his kids were running around and his wife Gisele Barreto Fetterman was working the crowd and playing Sudoku.
We had been cautioned— by the Fetterman campaign, by pundits and analysts, by pretty much everyone— that it was unlikely we’d see conclusive results on election night (that turned out to be true, technically). I filed a “no results yet” story to the Pennsylvania Capital-Star shortly after 11 p.m. but I texted my editor that I would stick around for a while; I don’t know, it just didn’t feel like it was over yet.
Then all of a sudden, everything shifted. I texted my editor.
The networks started calling the race for Fetterman, the crowd started coming back in and when they saw themselves on the TV broadcast on the big screen, they went absolutely bananas cheering. Then, Back in Black by AC/DC started playing over the sound system: the race was over and Fetterman was taking the stage.
I had followed the Fetterman Senate campaign with interest since he officially announced he was running, but only began covering the campaign near the end, when the NY Times asked me to talk to Democrats at Fetterman rallies, to balance with the Republicans they had interviewed at Trump rallies. It was hard to square what people were saying at these events— that they felt empathy for him, that they were worried about healthcare, women’s rights, student loans—with the national media’s dire projections that Fetterman’s uneven debate performance had doomed his campaign.
Anyway, I wrote about the election night victory and interviewed Fetterman’s communications manager about how the campaign bounced back and won. Many thanks to John Micek at the Capital-Star for including me in their election night coverage.
More: The Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh, which represents striking Post-Gazette journalists, will meet with management for the first time in months. They just want to get back to work.
Two of my favorite people are launching a podcast in January.
Watching [no spoilers!]:
The Handmaid’s Tale (which, shouldn’t it be Handmaids’ plural by now?) did what it does best in its season five finale: Subject June to graphic physical violence and emotional devastation. I knew Elisabeth Moss directed this episode almost immediately because it opens with shots of June bathed in golden sunlight while trying on a bulletproof vest. She likes the contradictions, this one. By now, each episode’s outcome is easy to predict and the one twist right at the end of this one is where the show has been shoving us all season. It wasn’t a bad season, but I think it’s good that season six will be Handmaid’s last; there’s only so much more they can do to June. Grade: B+
The prison break episode of Andor is hard to discuss without spoiling but it’s on par with The Eye for the series’ best; great plot, relentless high-stakes action, really good acting and special effects on par with any cinematic release (there’s an amazing “overhead” shot near the end that serves as a metaphor for the whole series). The Ringer has a good recap. Grade: A.
The Crown is back and despite the show’s best efforts to make me sympathize with Charles, sorry, I am #TeamDiana forever. The White Lotus: still cringe! Jennifer Coolidge: still amazing! Manifest: I fell asleep again.
Thanks for reading. See you back here on Thursday.