hollywood billionaire

Chapter 467: Election Aftermath (Part )
There are fifty states and four hundred and thirty-five congressional districts in the United States. At first glance, the red and blue sides are intertwined, like a game of Go, and the battle is hard to determine in the core area of ​​the North American continent.

The complexity of the situation, the fierceness of the competition, and the ever-changing situation always make outsiders who know nothing about American politics dizzy.

But if you dig two layers deeper, you will find that beneath the complex and exquisite shell, what is hidden is often a simple and ugly human heart.

These 1792 congressional districts are redistributed every ten years based on the relative population ratio of each state at that time. Since the U.S. Constitution does not clearly stipulate how to allocate the number of districts that each state can obtain, various methods of allocating seats have been used in the 224 years since , including the Jefferson method, the Hamilton method, the Webster method, and the Huntington-Hill method used today... Just learning about these allocation methods and the historical evolution behind them can open a separate course in college.

Taking the allocation of congressional districts in 2010 as an example, Texas, which has a rapidly growing population, gained four new districts, Florida gained two, and Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, South Carolina, Utah, and Washington each gained one district. New York, which has suffered a serious population loss in the upstate, and Ohio, whose economy has been sluggish and residents have been moving out, lost two seats. Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania also lost a seat in the House of Representatives due to population mobility.

The states that increased their constituencies are basically red states, and the states that lost constituencies are basically blue states. As a result, the Republican Party has an advantage of 24 seats in the House of Representatives.

Of course, the two parties' congressional election situation in each state cannot be generalized so simply, because in addition to the redistribution of the number of districts, each state also has its own method of dividing districts.

Except for six small states with only one representative in the House of Representatives, namely Alaska, Delaware, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming, the other 44 states must redraw their districts after the census every ten years. However, the federal government has no regulations and no power to stipulate the specific method of dividing districts in each state. This has led to the 44 states having different methods of doing so.

Some states have the state legislature do the redistricting, while others have a separate redistricting commission. Some states have the commission do the redistricting, but it requires approval from the state legislature. Some states have the legislature do the redistricting, but it requires approval from the governor. Some states only allow redistricting once every 10 years, while others allow it to be done “mid-decade,” in the fifth year, for a total of two redistrictings in 10 years. Other states allow congressional districts to be drawn twice every 10 years, but only once for state legislatures…

Each state also has different standards for redistricting. Some states place more emphasis on population equality, with each congressional district having the same number of people. Some states place more emphasis on compactness and contiguity, trying to keep communities of the same ethnicity in one district. Some states where one party dominates emphasize maintaining the existing political community and ensuring that they have an advantage in every district. And some key swing states place special emphasis on maintaining partisan fairness... It's not because these states are more committed to fairness, equity, and justice, but because the state legislatures of these swing states are usually swinging, and if lawmakers on both sides of the aisle don't compromise with each other, there's no way they can reach a consensus.

Take New York, for example. The deep blue state has a bipartisan redistricting commission, but its recommendations are nonbinding and its members have difficulty reaching consensus. Democratic governors and legislatures often bypass the commission and draw their own districts. In 2022, Democrats joined forces to merge six conservative districts into three and included liberal areas in Brooklyn in a swing district that includes Staten Island, pushing at least four Republican incumbents out of Congress.

What is most ridiculous is that this absurd behavior, which is entirely based on personal interests and party interests, is actually legal.

Under such circumstances, the political landscape of the United States is becoming increasingly rigid, the boundaries between blue states and red states are becoming increasingly clear, the power of the two parties is growing, and it is not difficult to understand why all kinds of signs of the end of a dynasty are emerging one by one.

Today, there are not many so-called battlefields left for the two parties to fight for. Most of them, like Jerry Nadler's 10th Congressional District in New York, have their outcomes doomed before they even begin.

For example, Ralph Abraham in Louisiana's 208545th District received 81.5% of the votes with votes, which is quite scary. Most importantly, his opponent Billy Burkett is also a Republican candidate.

In other words, in this constituency, no matter which candidate wins, it will be a victory for the Republican Party.

If you think this is exaggerated, then take a look at Lucille Roybal-Allard in California's 40th Congressional District. This congresswoman has been working on Capitol Hill since 1993 and has won 12 consecutive elections. As the first Latina woman to serve as one of the " Cardinals" of the House Appropriations Committee, Allard can basically walk sideways in Los Angeles, where there are many Latinos. Her political influence on Capitol Hill is so strong, and her local community relations in the constituency are so deep that no one, whether Republican or Democratic, is willing to compete with her.

It is one thing to lose an election, it is another to be slaughtered by 80 or even 90 percent.

Therefore, Congressman Allard's 2016 election campaign was just a formality. With 76.3% to 23.7%, he easily defeated the independent candidate Roman Gabriel Gonzalez who was brought in to make up the numbers without any campaign activities.

Many media outlets, including CNN, ABC, and the New York Times, did not even include the voting information of this constituency on their official websites. They simply noted that "this candidate is running without a major party opponent" and directly awarded the constituency to Lucille Roybal Allard.

The United States under the two-party system is so cruel.

Therefore, among the 435 constituencies, there are only 57 where the competition is slightly fierce and there is suspense.

Among these 57 constituencies, only 23 can truly be called swing districts where the two parties are competing against each other, the outcome is unpredictable, and it is impossible to predict who will win until the last moment.

Nevada's 4th Congressional District, where Reuben Kihune is running, is one of them.

"From the Senate to the House of Representatives, Nevada is on the front line this year. Sitting here, I can smell the smoke of the battlefield that has not yet dissipated."

Han Yi's words may be a bit exaggerated, but they do summarize the election situation in Nevada in 2016 very well.

This year, twelve swing states with ambiguous positions and two congressional districts with independent electoral votes, Maine's Second Congressional District and Nebraska's Second Congressional District, are the deciding factors in the presidency, and Nevada is one of them.

Although it is right next to California, which is as blue as it can be, Nevada is known for being "purple" because about one-third of potential voters consider themselves independent voters. Although six electoral votes may not seem like much, they can play a crucial role when the situation is tense. The most amazing thing is that there is a metaphysics about the election situation in Nevada that has continued since the beginning of the last century.

What metaphysics?
That is, since William Howard Taft in 1908, every Republican candidate who ultimately won has won Nevada.

Because of this, presidential candidates from both parties have held several rallies here, especially the orange New York real estate tycoon. On June 6, the MAGA old man who held a campaign rally at the Treasure Island Hotel was almost stabbed to death by Michael Steven Sanford, a 18-year-old British citizen with a "history of mental disorder" who tried to snatch the gun of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police.

You see, eight years before he was "blessed by God" and had his ears pierced in 2024, many people had already wanted to solve the problem with physical means.

In addition, Nevada has suddenly become a battleground state in the Senate election this year, as Nevada Senator Harry Reid announced that he would retire after his term ends in January 2017 and would not seek re-election. Among the nine Senate battleground states of Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, Nevada is the only state with a Democratic senator in office. Defending the state's seats is the only way for the Democrats to regain control of the Senate after losing nine seats in 1.

It can be said that if the Democratic Party cannot even keep Nevada, then its desire to become the majority party in the Senate will be nothing more than empty talk.

The Democratic candidate, the 32nd Attorney General of Nevada, Catherine Cortez Masto, who is of Latino descent, and the Republican candidate, retired Army Major General and orthopedic surgeon John Heck, each have their own unbreakable base, but their appeal to the one-third of independent voters is questionable, and neither has an advantage over the other. Three days before the election, polls showed that Masto and Heck were expected to receive 48.9% and 48.4% of the votes respectively.

Normally, the total number of votes cast in the Nevada Senate election is around 100 million, which means that the poll gap between the two party candidates is less than 5000 votes.

This is the real battlefield.

Finally, at the House of Representatives level, Nevada also has two important districts that have attracted national attention, NV-3 and NV-4.

NV-3, or Nevada's 2004rd Congressional District, is where John Heck serves as a representative. He had to hand over the baton to Danny Tarkanian, who was a well-known lawyer, a successful real estate businessman, and a perennial candidate for public office. The reason why he is called a "perennial candidate" is that he has participated in the 2006 Nevada State Senate, the 2010 Nevada Secretary of State, the 2012 U.S. Senate, and the U.S. House of Representatives, but all failed.

Such a perennial loser defeated six other candidates and stood out in the Republican primary, giving the Democratic Party hope of turning red to blue, because on their side, Jackie Rosen, who won the nomination with 62.2% of the votes, is one of the leaders of the local Jewish congregation and a member of the Culinary Workers Union Chapter 226, one of the largest and most powerful unions in Nevada. She supports immigration reform, advocates raising the minimum wage, and calls for more government funding for Nevada's gaming and tourism industries, which makes her popular among independent voters.

The Democratic National Committee has placed a heavy bet on this constituency. The retiring Harry Reid is personally supervising the campaign, and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is responsible for raising funds for it. They vowed to turn this constituency, which has been red five out of six elections since 2003, into a forward base for the Democratic Party to regain control of Congress.

The situation of NV-4 is roughly the same, with only slight differences in some details.

For example, the Republican candidate here, Clayson Hardy, is not as unlucky as Danny Tarkanian. He was successfully elected in his first run and is ambitiously seeking re-election this year.

For example, Reuben Kihune is not a political novice like Jackie Rosen who has never held public office. He is already the majority whip of the state Senate and has a certain influence in the state legislature and even at other levels in Nevada.

But precisely because the candidates on both sides are stronger than NV-3, the competition here is more intense and, in the eyes of political analysts, more difficult to determine.

In addition, the 2010th District itself is a new district that emerged after Nevada's redistricting in . It has not yet formed an iron vote base that no party can shake. The two parties have taken turns in power, but neither has had time to consolidate the fruits of victory.

As a result, NV-4, along with its neighbor NV-3 to the west, became one of the 2016 battlegrounds that would determine the final outcome of the two parties in the 23 congressional election.

"To be honest, the fighting on these battlefields was really exciting. On the night of the election, I basically spent half of my time paying attention to the situation here." Jordan Bromley pursed his lips and nodded slowly, as if he was still recalling the fierce fighting on that day. "Were you watching that day too?"

"Yes, I am also... paying attention."

Han Yi responded vaguely and began to check the data on his mobile phone.

He just checked the results after waking up the next day, and that night...

There are other things going on.

"In the presidential election, the Democratic Party received 47.92% of the votes, and the Republican Party received 45.5%, which is much closer than in 2012."

"It's mainly because Washoe County has changed from dark blue to light blue," Jordan Bromley explained. In the 21st century, the election situation in Nevada actually depends on two places: Clark County, where Las Vegas is located, and Washoe County, which ranks second in population. Of the two counties, Clark County has basically not changed its color and is a stronghold of the Democratic Party. The darker the color here, the more stable the Democratic Party's base votes. As for Washoe County, it was still light red at the beginning of this century, but Obama successfully turned it blue after taking office. Today, it has become another stable source of votes for the Democratic Party in Nevada.

As for the other fifteen counties between the two, it goes without saying that as long as they are sparsely populated rural areas, they are all Republican territories.

If Washoe and Clark turn blue, it will be almost certain that the Democrats will win Nevada. If Washoe turns red, it means that the Republicans have won a historic victory here. The results of the 2016 election were between the two. Blue retained Washoe, but it turned from sky blue to light blue. At the same time, Humboldt County, Pershing County, and Churchill County, which border Washoe, all turned from light red to blood red. Obviously, the Republican strategy of encircling the city worked. It's just that the rural population in Nevada is not large enough, and there are 27000 fewer votes cast for them, so that they missed the six electoral votes here.

“So that man became the first Republican since Taft to win an election without the support of Nevada.”

Although he had experienced the 2016 election twice, Han Yi still felt very fresh when he read the news.

After all, rebirth does not mean omniscience. No one travels back with Wikipedia, so these trivial details are naturally impossible to remember.

"He's also the first Republican to win an election without carrying Washoe County since McKinley in 1900," Jordan echoed.

“Our MAGA baby really knows how to break the mold, doesn’t she?”

"Haha, I like this word, MAGA baby." Jordan patted the steering wheel and laughed out loud.

"But it's a bit of a pity." Han Yi smacked his lips. "I actually want to see Nevada turn red, watch the blue on the West Coast being compressed to just a line, and listen to the Democrats' wailing."

"It sounds like you really hate us." Jordan shook his head and took a long breath. "God, I mean...if the Democrats really lost Nevada, I don't know what would happen. Maybe the DNC would just start a civil war."

"Bernie Sanders just started an uprising, didn't he? He just changed the name of the Democratic Party to the Social Democratic Party." Han Yi joked, "Maybe this is the way out that the Democratic Party should find for itself."

"They actually said that the Russians were trying to manipulate our election." As the atmosphere became more intense, Jordan's jokes became bolder.

"Oh, believe me, Jordan, it doesn't matter to me who is president... I don't care about my tax bracket like other billionaires." Even if it was a joke, Han Yi had to make his position clear, "My mind is pure, I just want to get the Music Modernization Act done, that's all."

"You now have some very powerful allies, and they have come this far with your help." Jordan quickly changed the subject. Although the two had attorney-client privilege, and no one, including the U.S. government, could force them to reveal confidential information, he still wanted to avoid overly sensitive topics as much as possible. If he had to talk, he would find a more secluded place, not the middle of Santa Monica Boulevard. "Kihuen's performance this time shocked everyone, with a 5.6% lead, which is much better than the other two battlefields."

As Jordan said, Reuben Kihune's performance in NV-4 was the most outstanding result of the entire Nevada Democratic Party.

In the Senate election, Mastow, who was running for the Democratic Party, lost all counties except Clark County. Yes, even Washoe County, lost to John Heck by a narrow margin of 46.9% to 46.0%, and the whole state was red. If it weren't for the huge lead in Las Vegas, 51.3% to 40.3%, a full 82000 votes more, John Heck would be celebrating his victory now.

At the House level, the election situation in NV-3 was also very close. It was not until the last moment that amateur Jackie Rosen secured the victory and won the House seat by 1.2%, or less than 3000 votes.

In contrast, Reuben Kihune won a resounding victory in NV-4, with 49.3% to 43.7%, 131112 to 116219 votes, a lead of nearly 15000 votes, allowing the Democratic Party to win the constituency cleanly and beautifully.

Eight of the 23 battleground districts in this election saw a change of party, with the biggest lead for challengers being in Florida's 8th district. In the Sunshine State, Republican Brian Masters defeated Democrat Patrick Murphy by a staggering 18 percent.

The second place is Reuben Kihune, who defeated Republican Congressman.

Winning Clark, winning Washoe, and even taking Carlson City. 36-year-old Reuben Kihune became one of the few bright spots for the Democratic Party on this bleak election day.

As for why he won so beautifully?

Well… …

Although the problem cannot be simply judged by one dimension, please look at the following data:

Republican candidate Clayson Hardy raised $1837510 in campaign funds and actually spent $1876222. He received $583305 in external support funds, and $2620208 in "opposition funds" used to attack his opponents. The total amount of external campaign funds that did not enter his campaign account was $3203513.

Democratic candidate Reuben Kihune raised $2508922 in campaign funds, spent $2499083, and had $16494 left in cash. External support funds amounted to $2527019, opposition funds amounted to $5516610, and total external campaign funds amounted to $8043629.

As a participant in the 2016 "Red to Blue" projects selected by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in early 16, the DCCC obviously spent a lot of money on Reuben Kihoon. In addition, Han Yi, as an independent sponsor, also played a big role in boosting the campaign. He not only donated $ in cash to Kihoon's Super Action Committee through various channels, but also provided considerable convenience for his campaign.

What conveniences?

For example, the official website of Mad City Music Festival has "paid advertisements" purchased by the Reuben Kihune campaign committee.

Around the Las Vegas festival venue, Han assisted them in setting up 13 canvassing points.

Even inside the venue, there are “volunteers” distributing flyers, and there’s no need to worry about getting caught.

Nearly 250,000 people came in three days, a considerable number of whom were locals. They were young people who liked to listen to hip-hop music, electronic music, and pursue fashion and trends... and they were all over 18 years old.

Mad City Music Festival is right up Reuben Kihune's alley.

"He is now the golden boy of the Democratic Party." Jordan mused. "In the past, he had to wait until the Democratic National Convention to have a chance to dine with Nadler. It was only once a year, and he had to share the table with other people. Now, Nadler is willing to set aside his Christmas holiday to meet him. It's a big improvement."

"Every crushing defeat is an opportunity to reshuffle the cards," Han Yi said. "Nadler's willingness to meet with Kihune during Christmas is a sign of goodwill and proof that he wants to gain more influence within the party."

"It would be hard to gain more influence, if you're talking about a position of real power... I don't know, but it sounds difficult." Jordan curled his lips in noncommittal.

“Because he’s too left-wing?”

"Bernie Sanders verbally supports the right to choose abortion, and Jerry Nadler has twice sponsored the Freedom of Choice Act. How many people in Congress are more left-wing than him? Even within the Democratic Party, there are many people who disagree with his political views." Jordan snorted, "If you want to become a leader within a party, you must first have a basis for cooperation with people across the aisle... Pelosi has done a good job in this regard. Apart from her party affiliation, you can hardly see any difference between her and moderate Republicans in terms of political stance. Such people are qualified to sit in the position of minority leader. Jerry Nadler's approach works in Manhattan, and it is no problem for him to become a lifelong member of Congress, but he can't take another step forward on his own."

"That may be why he needs Kihune." Han Yi smiled. "Based on Reuben's proposal history and cooperation history in the state senate, he is left-wing, but not extreme left. He accepts cross-party cooperation, but is cautious about it. He actively participates in every legislative decision, and during his time as a senator in the state senate, he only missed 1.6% of the votes. Most importantly, he is a freshman with no roots, no friends, and no allies on Capitol Hill. He has no strong co-sponsors, no committees that can allow him to further exert his influence, and no leadership positions in the committees. Such a diligent, motivated, and barely satisfactory blank slate is exactly what Nadler needs."

"Kihoon certainly needs Nadler," Jordan speculated, "if he wants to make full use of these two years, fully realize his political star chips, and stay on Capitol Hill for a long time."

“He’s extremely ambitious and has no intention of hiding it.”

Han Yi rubbed his swollen nose. He always felt that Reuben Kihoon was too radical and too flamboyant in some aspects. It would be easy for him to offend some troublesome opponents without even realizing it. But at least for now, he really needed Kihoon to charge forward.

Because, apart from Bob Goodlatte, this is the only congressman with whom he has established a good cooperative relationship.

"Which committees does he want to join?" Jordan immediately understood the hidden meaning behind Han Yi's words. The ambition of a congressman must be realized through the committees he joins.

"When he first entered Congress, he was not picky at all. He took any committees he could get into... Well, but he hoped that at least one or two of them would be powerful committees. He didn't count on the Appropriations Committee, but he was interested in the Financial Services Committee, the Energy and Commerce Committee, and the Judiciary Committee."

"No wonder he's in such a hurry to seek Nadler's support. With his support, it shouldn't be a problem for him to join the Judiciary Committee."

"Yes, of course, he wants more than just to be Nadler's disciple. I can sense that Kihoon hopes to provide some bargaining chips when he meets with Nadler in New York."

"So what kind of cooperation proposal did he throw at you?" Jordan knew very well that Reuben Kihune couldn't have anything that would interest Jerry Nadler.

At present, it seems that the only person who can help him get some chips together is this billionaire in the music industry who is actively betting on him.

"He wants me to actively pursue the acquisition of Circus Circus early next year."

Han Yi put down his phone, looked at Jordan Bromley, and spoke word by word.

"In addition, he hopes that I can agree to let Michael Nadler, an attorney at the New York law firm Gershman & Johnson, be in charge of the entire M&A process."

(End of this chapter)