Election Day was…long. Report time was 5:45 a.m. We dropped off the memory cards and assorted supplies back at the Board of Elections around 9 p.m.

Then I went home.

Working an election is not what you’d call fun, but it does make one feel like you’re part of the solution. When you’re that tired, the drama of certain races just becomes a blur. I went to bed learning Abdul el-Sayed had a comfortable lead over Haley Stevens, and woke up learning the lead had shrunk, but was still probably solid. And it was.

Given that was really the only race where the result wasn’t a foregone conclusion, I’ve been reading the reaction pieces today. The race was tighter than anyone thought it would be — the Stevens camp thought she had it in the bag, and vice versa. It turned out to be around 1 percent. So now we’re gonna have think pieces for a few weeks, and then the polling will start, and yadda yadda, etc.

All I know is, it’s gotta work. Abdul has charm, intelligence, a touch of arrogance yes but a thousand times more charisma than Stevens. And how long have progressives been holding their noses and voting for moderates? A very long time. It’s for some favor returning.

I will be getting a new congressman. The extremely weird Shri Thanedar fell to a primary challenge from Donavon McKinney, a DSA candidate for sure. By the end of the campaign, we were getting two anti-McKinney mailers a day, but I voted for him anyway. Thanedar wasn’t much of a rep, and I’ve of a mind it’s time for a change.

As for the gubernatorial race, it’s Jocelyn Benson vs. John James. Of James, he puts me in mind of Jon Stewart’s line about Rudi Giuliani: His campaign consists of a noun, a verb and 9/11. In James’ case, it’s a noun, a verb and a helicopter — he’s one of those guys who looks like he was grown in a lab designed to produce the ultimate urban Republican. Brown skin, white teeth, insincerity seeping from him like water from a sponge. West Point, Iraq war (that’s where the helicopter comes from) and it gets mentioned constantly. He’s like a Harvard grad who figures out how to tell you they went to Harvard in the first 10 minutes of meeting you. When I was flying helicopters in Iraq, etc.

For now, I’m taking a break from caring until Labor Day. Still tired, still want to enjoy what’s left of summer.

In the meantime, even though it’s irrelevant, here’s an amusing story about Haley Stevens’ Meeechigan eeahhhcent. Thick as Mackinac Island fudge.

Still tired.