As a boy, I was a fan of the circus when it came to town each year. From the lions, tigers and elephants, to the trapeze flyers, high-wire walkers and trick riders, there was something about the overstated drama and scripted chaos that I found thoroughly entertaining. And, really, who doesn’t love a clown car?

Granted, it probably also helped that a trip to the circus meant I’d be able to buy a spool of cotton candy bigger than a bouffant hairdo. All that sugar with so little actual substance: It was a thing of wonder. And a fine political metaphor, come to think of it.

Maybe it’s my childhood sentiment for the Greatest Show on Earth that enabled me to get such a kick out of covering the three-ringed Democratic Party circus known as the presidential caucus when it has come to town. I loved the crowds. I loved the chaos. I loved the jousting candidates and the juggling acolytes.

It was melodramatic, largely scripted, and at times pie-in-the-face funny, but I still got a kick out of it.

Mostly, I loved those moments when precinct neighbors gathered to agree and disagree as they participated in the grassroots political process – even when all they appeared to have in common was caucus fatigue.

Now the caucus is being mothballed in favor of the far more efficient primary system. It’s not official, but let’s just say that’s how the smart money is betting.

When legendary Former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announces it’s time to pull stakes and breakdown the three-ring circus tent, you can expect most of the rest of the party to follow his lead. And that’s what’s happened.

After lauding the effort of Nevada Democrats in the wake of the clown act in Iowa, Reid gave the Silver State caucus the hook: “With so much Democratic enthusiasm in Nevada, demonstrated again by the tremendous caucus turnout this year, I believe we should make the process of selecting our nominee even more accessible. That’s why I believe it’s time for the Democratic Party to move to primaries everywhere."

Reid, who is chiefly responsible for Nevada’s “First in the West” position and its caucus, called for the Silver State to move to the top slot on the strength of its demographic diversity.

Within hours, State Democratic Party Chair William McCurdy II celebrated the smashing success of the caucus, expressed his undying gratitude for the effort of the “thousands of volunteers,” and then called for the summary execution of the process.

“With all of that said, I believe we need to start having a serious conversation ahead of next cycle about the limitations of the caucus process and the rules around it,” McCurdy said in a statement. “If our goal is to bring as many Nevada Democrats as possible into the fold to select our presidential nominee, it’s time for our State Party and elected leaders to look at shifting to a primary process moving forward.”

That’s right. The caucus was so successful they don’t want to do it anymore.

In case anyone wondered whether Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak was a little bit nostalgic for the caucus-caucus circus-circus, on Tuesday he also weighed in. He expressed his gratitude to McCurdy and the party generally, and then called for reform via Twitter: “Despite strong reforms, fundamental challenges with the caucus process remain. As we look ahead, we must further open up the process of selecting our nominee & I intend to work with State Party & legislative leaders to review how we could switch to an early presidential primary.”

The caucus has been over for a week, but you can still feel the relief in the air from Nevada Democrats who couldn’t sleep for fear of joining Iowa in the national embarrassment ring. The addition of early voting was so popular it took the starch and much of the chaos out of caucus day, but it also resulted in long lines and a strange and frustrating belt-and-suspenders voting process that combined the use of iPads and paper ballots and allowed multiple candidate choices.

All that, and not a cotton candy vendor in sight.

Those who hoped to avoid caucus chaos transferred some of it to early voting, where several persons I interviewed (including a couple volunteers) were extremely frustrated with the clunky TSA-style multi-checking and the Soviet breadline wait time.

On caucus day, I interviewed a number of participants who also were bothered by the time-consuming tradition. But I also found a number who liked it.

There, I said it. They genuinely seemed to enjoy getting together and listening to the political pitches, huddling like coveys of quail, and chatting with their precinct residents. Yes, I saw people talk to their neighbors. Some even made eye contact.

“It was exciting,” Bill Shettler said outside his Chaparral High caucus site. “We had to come up with a candidate. … It was fun. And you get to see all your neighbors. You run into people you haven’t seen in a while.”

Fellow caucus-goer Ben Nance liked it, too.

“The math was kind of intriguing,” he said, uttering my favorite line of the week.

Intriguing? It was caucus math, not an angry mob, that killed Pythagoras.

“We went from two candidates who were not viable to one candidate who was viable,” Nance continued. “And doing so, we got two delegates. And we sort of kept two away from the ones we didn’t want.”

Caucus veteran Pamela Romano said she likes the current system, but added, “It could be that a lot more people would put in a vote if it was a primary and not a caucus.”

Their views don’t carry the weight of Nevada’s political lions and party tigers, but the early voters and caucus-goers shared lively opinions and surprisingly few groans. They’ve been to the circus a few times themselves. They knew what to expect.

Caucus 2020 may have tested their patience, but they didn’t have to be reminded of what’s at stake.

John L. Smith is an author and longtime columnist. He was born in Henderson and his family’s Nevada roots go back to 1881. His stories have appeared in Time, Readers Digest, The Daily Beast, Reuters, Ruralite and Desert Companion, among others. He also offers weekly commentary on Nevada Public Radio station KNPR. His newest book—a biography of iconic Nevada civil rights and political leader, Joe Neal—”Westside Slugger: Joe Neal’s Lifelong Fight for Social Justice” is published by University of Nevada Press and is available at Amazon.com. Contact him at [email protected]. On Twitter: @jlnevadasmith