Across the Aisle | Rocking the Bipartisan Beat.

• Author: Schley, Stewart

When Nevada Assemblyman Richard McArthur was a teenager growing up in the suburbs of Sacramento, Calif., the musical motif of the moment was doo-wop on AM radio, not hip-hop on streaming video.

But that didn't stop the 78-year-old ex-FBI agent from busting out the moves the other day to a saucy dance hit for the video platform TikTok.

In the video, McArthur, in a blue suit and natty lavender tie, steps and struts alongside Assemblywoman Selena Torres, 27, to a backbeat supplied by a TikTok creator known as Esco Up. The 14-second clip is a testament to possibilities: two lawmakers--divided by generation, by ideology, by ethnicity, by political party--moving in tandem to a viral remix of the 2004 Natasha Bedingfield song "Unwritten."

Through mid-March, and much to McArthur's astonishment, the video had earned nearly 25,000 likes. "I still don't know that he knows what TikTok is yet," Torres says of her colleague. "But he couldn't believe how many views we got."

Aside from dance floor acumen, the odd-bedfellows pairing tells a story about communicating to a generation of constituents--and sending a message about political bipartisanship. Not for nothing, the video featuring McArthur sports two equally weighted images: the familiar GOP elephant, and a red, white and blue donkey signifying Torres' Democratic affiliation.

There's a reason for that. Establishing a reputation as a fair-minded, hip-with-the-times storyteller has helped Torres build relationships with legislators who don't always see eye to eye with her on policy. Since inviting him to the social media stage, Torres, who describes herself as "very progressive," has developed a close friendship with McArthur, whose campaign website boasts of an "A" rating from the National Rifle Association and who once earned a "most conservative voter" seal of approval from the American Conservative Union.

The two talk frequently over the phone and in person, and Torres also has become friendly with McArthur's wife. Their bond has translated to action on the floor, as Torres won "yes" votes in the last legislative session from McArthur on legislation addressing cultural competency for mental health professionals and sexual violence prevention at education institutions.

"We've had very different life journeys," Torres says. "But using social media to engage and have a conversation about politics, we have been able to recognize the humanity in one another."

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The across-the-aisle...