Democrats are plotting to overturn the will of their own primary voters and clear the field for left-wing “independents” in an act of political desperation. New reporting from Puck News and Politico reveals how Chuck Schumer and national Democrats are pressuring their own nominees to drop out and boost Idaho’s Todd Achilles and South Dakota’s Brian Bengs in head-to-head races against Republicans.
“Chuck Schumer’s desperate pressure campaign against members of his own party proves that so-called ‘independents’ like Todd Achilles and Brian Bengs are just Democrat shills,” said NRSC National Press Secretary Bernadette Breslin.
But as Politico reports, Democrat Julian Beaudion in South Dakota is so far resisting Schumer’s strong-arm tactics, saying he “won’t drop out—unless there’s divine intervention.”
Puck News: Democratic nominee Julian Beaudion . . . is resisting pressure from fellow Democrats
–August 4: Democratic nominee Julian Beaudion has until [today] to drop out of the South Dakota Senate race and clear a path for independent Brian Bengs to unseat Republican Sen. Mike Rounds. So far, Beaudion is resisting pressure from fellow Democrats, despite his weak polling and nearly empty bank account. Bengs is still a long shot, but Dems are hoping Beaudion will take a cue from David Roth, who dropped out last week in Idaho, boosting independent Todd Achilles against Sen. Jim Risch.
Politico: Dems are increasingly desperate to get their Senate candidates to drop out in these races
[I]f the Democrats stay on the ballot, it will be almost impossible to claw these seats away from Republicans in Mountain West states that President Donald Trump dominated in 2024.