...weren’t you literally one of those people
At some point I thought it was likely, that’s true, but I never considered it a sure thing, and the "Hawley is the worst candidate ever, outsider Braun is so strong omg he is going to ruin Democrats' hopes for a Senate majority, McCaskill is ALWAYS underestimated and anyone who disagrees with that only does so because they hate her personally, MO more ancestrally D down-ballot than IN, etc." hype was probably way too overdone with hindsight.
I definitely overestimated Heitkamp though, to put it charitably. It would still be foolish to count her out, of course, but my pessimism wasn’t really warranted. I remember thinking she had Susan Collins or even lifer potential.
