Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

POLITICS:

Etiquette 101: Call rival after you lose

Several winners in Nevada races haven’t heard from vanquished

Dina Titus Acceptance Speech

Congresswoman-elect Dina TItus addresses the crowd.

Jon Porter's concession

Jon Porter concedes to Dina Titus.

Beyond the Sun

After Adlai Stevenson was defeated by Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1952, the failed Democratic presidential candidate gave an artful and oft-paraphrased concession speech, saying: “That which unites us as American citizens is far greater than that which divides us as political parties.”

He also sent a telegram of congratulation to Eisenhower.

That, after all, is election etiquette. Not to mention that it is important to voters as recognition that the democratic process stands above all.

“Even in a civilized society, a political campaign is a fight. It may be more or less contested, but it is always a conflict,“ said P.M. Forni, author of “The Civility Solution: What to Do When People Are Rude.” “Just as we relish the fight as citizens and voters, we also want to see the reconciliation at the end of the race.”

In Nevada, however, citizens are still waiting.

Third Congressional District Rep.-elect Dina Titus and the four winners of the Clark County School Board races have not heard from the people they defeated in Tuesday’s election.

Rep. Jon Porter, who lost to Titus, might have had good intentions. The two campaigns exchanged phone numbers a few days before the election. But by the time Titus gave her acceptance speech, she hadn’t heard from Porter.

The race was tight and a clear winner wasn’t established until late in the evening. “Dina made her speech, but we weren’t ready to concede at that point,” Porter spokesman Matt Leffingwell said.

Porter’s campaign said it made an attempt to get in touch later that night. Titus’ campaign manager, Jay Gertsema, said he missed a call from a number he didn’t recognize — it wasn’t the one the Porter camp gave him in the number swap.

No message was left.

The era of television ushered the concession speech into prominence in the last half of the 20th century, and Porter did congratulate Titus twice in his concession speech in front of his supporters. Traditionally, however, those speeches are made only after a personal call.

Newly elected School Board member Chris Garvey said she didn’t expect to hear from teacher Ron Taylor, whom she defeated by fewer than 900 votes for the District B seat. The race started out on a congenial note “but toward the end it wasn’t so friendly,” Garvey said.

And losing School Board candidates Ronan Matthew and Edward Goldman said they had no intention of contacting the victor in their races.

The idea of “civility” and “etiquette” might seem a little out of place in the realm of attack politics, but the figurative handshake after the election has long been a part of the democratic process.

Remember that in the 2000 presidential election, as Election Day turned into Wednesday, the result came down to Florida. Al Gore called George Bush at about 2:30 a.m. and conceded after the TV networks announced Florida had voted red.

Gore had to call back and “un-concede” shortly afterward when it became clear that Florida wasn’t so clear.

When the aftermath of hanging chads was finally over, on Dec. 13, Gore opened his concession speech with a joke: “Just moments ago, I spoke with George W. Bush and congratulated him on becoming the 43rd President of the United States, and I promised him that I wouldn’t call him back this time.”

Nevada political consultant Dan Hart said “more frequently people don’t make that call” these days because the bitterness of campaigns makes those congratulatory calls difficult for losers to make.

Just ask Tessa Hafen, the Democrat Porter defeated in 2006. She telephoned Porter after narrowly losing a race in which he tarred the lifelong Nevadan as a carpetbagger. “It was a hard call to make, but that’s the expected thing to do,” she said.

After the bitter race for governor in 2006, Titus called Gov. Jim Gibbons to congratulate him.

She expected the same from Porter this year.

She can be reached at 256-3462.

Sun Reporter Emily Richmond contributed to this story.

Join the Discussion:

Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.

Full comments policy