Democratic incumbent Senator Catherine Cortez Masto has narrowly defeated Republican challenger Adam Laxalt in the race for Nevada Senate, according to Decision Desk. With 98% of the vote counted, Cortez Masto holds 48.7% of the vote to Laxalt’s 48.2%.

Cortez Masto’s Saturday evening victory comes after a lengthy ballot count process in the state.

Laxalt, the former state attorney general and grandson of a one-time Silver State governor, led in polls heading into Election Day as Cortez Masto struggled against headwinds throughout the campaign. President Joe Biden’s sagging popularity, soaring inflation, and crime put the vulnerable senator in a tough race even with the benefit of incumbency.

Cortez Masto jumped on the issue of abortion access following the overturning of Roe v. Wade over the summer. Following the Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, Cortez Masto leaned into the abortion issue to draw a contrast with the pro-life Laxalt.

In the final days of the campaign, Cortez Masto and her fellow Nevada Democrat, Governor Steve Sisolak, held a rally with former President Barack Obama in a bid to boost Democratic turnout before the election.

Although the GOP held an apparent advantage in voter enthusiasm heading into the final days of the contest — a CNN/SSRS poll had 38% of Republican voters feeling “extremely enthusiastic” compared to just 24% of Democrats — the race came down to just under 5,000 votes.

Laxalt’s grandfather was former Nevada Governor Paul Laxalt, who was an early backer of President Ronald Reagan. Adam Laxalt, widely seen as the frontrunner in his Republican primary race, beat former Army captain Sam Brown to receive the nod to challenge Cortez Masto.

After winning the primary, the GOP pinned its hopes on Laxalt to pull off an upset and flip a Democratic-held seat in the U.S. Senate, which was deadlocked at 50-50. Laxalt ran a competitive campaign and overtook Cortez Masto in the RealClearPolitics polling average in the last month of the race. Laxalt’s campaign focused largely on the economy and crime while attempting to tie Cortez Masto to Biden and his record.

“Think how much life has changed for Americans in just the past two years. Families today are seeing the worst inflation in four decades, record prices at the pump, fentanyl flooding across an open border, and violent crime sweeping our nation,” Laxalt wrote in a final pitch op-ed for Fox News last week. “This transformation is regrettable but should come as no surprise. It is a direct result of the sweeping liberal agenda imposed on our nation by Joe Biden, and his rubber stamp in the Senate, Catherine Cortez Masto.”

His campaign hit a few bumps, however. In mid-October, 14 members of Laxalt’s family publicly endorsed Cortez Masto. The blow was reminiscent of a similar late-stage family split that took place four years ago during Laxalt’s failed gubernatorial campaign. Many of the family members who signed on to the Cortez Masto endorsement are Democrats.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) absolutely roasted a traveler who apparently tried to sneak a handgun through security by hiding it inside a raw chicken.

The TSA shared a pun-riddled post on Instagram on Monday — including several photos of both the contraband and the uncooked bird — warning travelers that agents would always be on the lookout for such “half-baked” shenanigans.

“There’s a personal fowl here,” the caption began.

“The plot chickens as we barrel our way closer to Thanksgiving. For us, it’s a time to be thankful that our officers are always working around the cluck to keep you safe. Take for instance this ‘hen you believe it?’ find at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport,” the caption continued. “We hate to beak it to you here, but stuffing a firearm in your holiday bird for travel is just a baste of time. This idea wasn’t even half-baked; it was raw, greasy, and obviously unsupervised. The only roast happening here is this poor packing choice!”

“Feather you like it or not, there are rules for traveling with guns and ammunition. So, don’t wing it; roost over the proper packaging info through the link in our bio,” the message concluded.

According to the TSA, the raw chicken was legal to carry — as are other fresh meats and foods, provided they do not contain liquids — as long as it was packed in ice. The handgun — provided it was unloaded — was also legal to fly with, but only if it was checked baggage and it should have been locked in a hard-sided container.

Additionally, according to the TSA website, “Firearm parts, including magazines, clips, bolts and firing pins, are prohibited in carry-on baggage, but may be transported in checked baggage.”

Even replica and toy firearms are only permitted in checked baggage — but rifle scopes are permitted to be carried in checked bags.

The TSA’s Instagram account is well-known for its pun-filled posts about all things travel-related. Another recent post poked fun at someone who left false teeth behind after a flight.

“Are you having hard fillings about an item left at the airport? Well, brace yourself, as you might be enamored with these next bites of information. If you forgot an item on the plane, you should chews to reach out to your airline directly. If you’ve misplaced your item outside of security, the tooth fairy can’t help you, but airport lost and found can,” the post read. “You know that we won’t ever drill you with unwanted airport wisdom. So, best to brush up on your lost & found contacts through the link in our bio. Paste your airport code in the search function and molar over the return information.”