Mike Flood

Representative Mike Flood, Republican of Nebraska, stood outside the theater at a local high school in Norfolk on Tuesday evening, cheerfully mingling with the protesters gathering outside his town hall.

He greeted a line of seven silent provocateurs dressed in crimson hooded cloaks like the ones in the dystopian TV series “The Handmaid’s Tale.” He grinned for a selfie with a woman wearing a T-shirt that said “Dear America, Sorry About Mike Flood, Sincerely, Nebraska.”

He made small talk with his Democratic opponent, Chris Backemeyer, who had set up his own booth outside.