But Mr McLaughlin said the headline from the election should be that Sinn Fein are now a force to be reckoned with - he polled 117, 643 first preference votes despite widespread speculation that the continuing search for IRA victims, known as the "disappeared", would affect his vote.
Last Wednesday's county council decision saw the authority's cabinet vote against progressing to the next stage of a process that would have seen studies take place in search of a suitable location for an underground nuclear dump.
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the only dissenting vote, expressed concern that allowing this type of police behavior would undermine the 4th Amendment protections against unreasonable search and seizure.