Not this time

The candidate.

J-L Cauvin, a North Jersey guy who does one of the best impressions on the planet of our Dear Leader, isn't going to Congress any time soon. In Tuesday's Democratic Party primary for a vacant seat in his district, which includes parts of Essex, Morris, and Passaic Counties, he's coming in tied for 11th place out of 13 candidates, with only 273 votes. In a contest that I believe is still too close to call, the top vote-getter has 18,512.

Cauvin (koh-VAN) was a prohibitive longshot, with little name familiarity and taking on a party machine that goes back centuries. On paper – or more accurately these days, on the internet – he looked like he might make a respectable showing. But it was not to be.

As a dude who has lost many an election, I can emphasize with J-L. Sometimes you click with people in one way but not another. When you get the bad news, you just go back to what you're good at, and wait for the next opportunity. Cauvin is a Georgetown-trained lawyer and smart as all get-out, as great comics usually are. Good things are ahead for him if he'll just let them come.

The impressionist.

Come to think of it, I did "win" a "race" once, for Democratic Party precinct committeeperson, in 2017.  That was like winning a lifetime pass to the weirdest clubhouse you ever dropped into. And not good weird, either. You can fault Cauvin for not working his way up through the ranks, but man, once you've seen the ranks, you start putting in the extra effort at your day job.