Report: Sen. Walsh Considering Dropping Out After Plagiarism Scandal

Sen. John Walsh, D-Mont., a combat veteran, speaks on the National Mall in Washington, Thursday, March 27, 2014, with the Capitol in the background, during an event with Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA... Sen. John Walsh, D-Mont., a combat veteran, speaks on the National Mall in Washington, Thursday, March 27, 2014, with the Capitol in the background, during an event with Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), who are placing 1,892 flags representing veteran and service members who have died by suicide to date in 2014 . The event also marked the introduction of The Suicide Prevention for America's Veterans Act by Sen. John Walsh, D-Mont., which calls for greater access to mental health care. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak) MORE LESS
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Sen. John Walsh (D-MT) is talking with his political team about whether to drop out of the Montana Senate race, according to Politico.

Those discussions, according to Politico, come after The New York Times reported that Walsh seemed to have plagiarized major parts of his master’s thesis. The plagiarism scandal made Walsh’s race, already one of the tougher ones among Democratic incumbents this cycle, even tougher.

The Missoulian and The Billings Gazette, two of Montana’s biggest newspapers, recently published editorials urging Walsh to end his candidacy for Senate.

Walsh was appointed to the post after Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) was named ambassador to China.

Top Democrats in Washington and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee are staying out of the discussions over whether Walsh should drop out, according to Politico.

Tuesday evening the Bozeman Daily Chronicle reported that Walsh’s campaign canceled a number of events scheduled for the week beginning with a fundraiser in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. This further fueled speculation that Walsh would drop out of the race.

If Walsh did step down, Montana Democrats would have until as late as Aug. 20 to pick a new candidate to face Rep. Steve Daines (R-MT).

The TPM Polltracker average gives Daines a 6 point lead over Walsh.

This post was updated.

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Notable Replies

  1. That picture makes him look like Gohmert with hair and glasses…HMmmmmm

  2. If this is true and Schweitzer could somehow mount a run, I might get back just a little bit of the respect I lost for him. A little.

  3. Avatar for bdtex bdtex says:

    Looks like the race was tightening too.

  4. Avatar for bdtex bdtex says:

    He could be the fly in BHO’s and Hillary’s ointment too. He seems to like doing that.

  5. Schweitzer could win…unless he is running for VP.

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