In the immortal words of the future Sen. John “Bluto” Blutarsky: “Over? Did you say over? Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?” And the 2018 campaign season ain’t over yet, not with a recount in, wait for it, Florida, as well as the terminally slow counts taking place in California and other places. 

While control of the Senate and House won’t be affected by whomever prevails in these races, it can certainly be aggravating to not be playing with a full deck (not that Congress has a full deck at any given moment anyway, what with the trickle of resignations and the like). 

When Marc Elias, who is representing Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson in the Florida recount, jumped on a press call Thursday to lay out what could be in store, it was a stark reminder that these things can take some time. 

That’s because Elias helped shepherd Al Franken to victory in his recount battle in 2008 against Minnesota Republican Sen. Norm Coleman.

Franken, who left office last December after coming under allegations of sexual harassment, started his first term late — July 7, 2009, to be exact, after the recount was finished and the case made its way through the courts. So the Senate might settle in for a long wait for whoever prevails in the Sunshine State, be it Nelson or Republican Rick Scott. 

How to keep up with all the unresolved drama? Well, there is Roll Call’s Election Results interactive map. And for the resolved drama, there is our guide to the Newest Members, complete with starter-kit biographies. 

So, “Nothing is over until we decide it is,” as Blutarsky (OK, OK, John Belushi) continued in “Animal House.”

This Week’s Podcast

Nathan L. Gonzales is reintroducing himself to his kids. Simone Pathé is spending time outside. Bridget Bowman just wants to sleep. How to get over an election hangover, Political Theater podcast version. (Oh, and we also talked about the moments out on the campaign trail when things started to get real about what was likely happening in the midterms.) 

The Kicker