We might not know on election night whether President Donald Trump won his re-election bid or if former Vice President Joe Biden returns to the White House, but with any luck this election cycle is winding down.

Cable TV brought the advent of the 24-hour news cycle and with it the permanent campaign. But this particular run seems awfully long, probably because we’ve been trapped in our homes for months dealing with fears of coronavirus. 

My favorite ditty on Facebook these days: “Anyone else feel Halloween is unnecessary this year? I’ve been wearing a mask and eating candy for seven months now. I don’t think I need a day dedicated to it anymore.”  

The other night I watched the best of “Late Night with Stephen Colbert,” where every day he tore off “March 12” on his desk calendar. 

I had forgotten about all those Democrats running for the president, and how Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren in less than one minute destroyed former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s campaign. She and Bloomberg were among six Democratic presidential candidates on a Las Vegas stage three days before the Nevada caucus in February.

“I’d like to talk about who we’re running against: A billionaire who calls women fat broads and horse-faced lesbians,” Warren said. “And no, I’m not talking about Donald Trump. I’m talking about Mayor Bloomberg.”

When Colbert replayed that clip, he added that of course Warren wasn’t referring to Trump because she said “billionaire.” Burn!

But what really is fascinating in rereading articles about that debate are the mentions of Biden. From CNBC: “Biden, the former front-runner, came across as mostly an afterthought. …  He is at risk of underperforming in Nevada on Saturday and the South Carolina primary on Feb. 29, after he flopped in Iowa and New Hampshire.”

As we know, Biden did well in South Carolina and he used that momentum to victories on Super Tuesday and beyond and became the Democratic nominee.

My favorite moment of this campaign cycle happened one year ago in Fort Dodge, Iowa, when Biden spoke to a crowd at the Fort Museum. It was Halloween and I was on my first attempt at Keto, so the bags of Almond Joys and Snickers all over the tables were so painful. 

“Happy Halloween,” Biden said. “I wonder what the president is going as tonight.”

This was no “Sleepy Joe” speaking.

I had driven to Iowa with Mary Alice Mandarich and Chip Spreyer, staunch Democrats from Denver whose son Jacob worked for Biden’s campaign overseeing 24 counties in northwest Iowa. We all ended up at the Iowa Democratic Party’s mega Liberty and Justice gala in Des Moines.

On our way to the Midwest, we stopped for lunch at Ole’s Big Game Steakhouse in western Nebraska and there was Rick Enstrom, a former Colorado Wildlife commissioner, sitting at one of the tables. That should have been the first clue the trip would be awesome.

The Fort Dodge event was so informal that I stood a whisker away from Biden after his talk, and listened to all those Iowans tell the former vice president how much they missed him and President Obama. As I wrote, “I was able to stand next to him and listen to the conversations because I passed for the Midwesterner that I am. Then someone spotted my press badge and I had to move back.”

Mary Alice and Chip were extremely confident in Biden’s chances, and I kept thinking, “Boy, are they going to be shocked.” It turns out the rest of us were. 

Colbert did a segment where he wore Biden-like aviator sunglasses and talked about being dug up and brought back to life. 

What an election cycle, both nationally and locally, where fears of coronavirus limited and reshaped campaign events for most of 2020. 

Let’s take a look back. 

Democrats kicked off 2019 in charge of everything in the state, but at the end of the session Senate Democrats killed big-ticket progressive bills involving family leave, vaping taxes and vaccination mandates. How interesting that the Democrats have a family leave measure and an e-cigarette tax on the ballot this year.  

When the Colorado Repubican Party elected Ken Buck chairman in March 2019, the congressman declared, “We’re going to teach Democrats how to spell RECALL.” The recall attempts failed, and the only thing they did was make swing voters such as myself RECOIL. 

Two Coloradans, former Gov. John Hickenlooper and U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, joined the pack of Democrats running for president. The editorial-page writers loved Bennet much more than the voters did, and Hickenlooper’s campaign fizzled out early on. 

Hickenlooper then decided to take on Republican Sen. Cory Gardner. With the reigns of the campaign in Washington’s hands, Hickenlooper for the longest time lacked authenticity. I thought of some of those stellar Democratic candidates who dropped out to make way for Hickenlooper, such as former House Majority Leader Alice Madden and former Colorado U.S. Attorney John Walsh, and groaned. 

President Trump traveled to Colorado Springs in February where he spoke at length without notes and fired up his faithful. We now know that he already knew of the dangers of coronavirus when he held that huge, maskless rally. I detest the guy but some of my closest and smartest friends were in that audience, which goes to show you how strange politics can be. 

But Trump said something I agreed with: “Parasite” should not have won the Oscar for Best Picture.

Because of the coronavirus, the legislature adjourned in March but a state Supreme Court ruling allowed the legislators  to come back later. 

Legitimate protests this spring over police and their often fatal interactions with Black suspects disintegrated into destructive riots with broken windows and graffiti all over the state Capitol and surrounding properties. Gov. Jared Polis failed to speak out until former Gov. Bill Owens said what so many Coloradans were thinking.

President Trump came down with coronavirus, which he has been criticized for mishandling.  So did Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman, who lost his congressional seat in the Democrats’ blue wave in 2018, but managed to eke out a victory in the mayor’s race a year ago.

Four years ago, Donald Trump defied the pollsters when he beat Democrat Hillary Clinton. He was able to declare victory that night.

Who knows if this year we are headed to Bush-Gore II,  with mail-in ballots replacing hanging chads as the issue.

No matter which candidate becomes president I’m worried we will still be quarantined in 2021. I’ve printed out the Serenity Prayer just in case.