Page 18 - Flathead Beacon // 8.13.14

18 | AUGUST 13, 2014 NEWS FLATHEADBEACON.COM
Sen. John Walsh at the U.S. Senate debate at Montana Tech in Butte on June 14. GREG LINDSTROM | FLATHEAD BEACON
Uphill Battle for Democrats Turns Desperate in Wake of Walsh Plagiarism Scandal
With Walsh out of race, party should focus on other races it can win, observers say
By TRISTAN SCOTT of the Beacon
Democratic prospects for winning the U.S. Senate seat were tenu- ous even before a plagiarism scandal broadsided U.S. Sen. John Walsh, forcing him to withdraw from the high-profile election and clearing a path to victory for the Republican candidate, U.S. Rep. Steve Daines.
Now, facing an 11th-hour push to nominate a replacement, the party is hamstrung by a narrow field of viable candidates and an even nar- rower timeframe for a nominee to raise money and gain momentum on the campaign trail. And with no Democratic opponent, Daines is poised to become the first Republican to win the Senate seat in a century.
But there is more at stake for Montana Democrats than the Sen- ate seat, and jettisoning Walsh from the picture allows the party three months to shift the public’s focus from the distraction that eclipsed Walsh’s candidacy to other Democratic hopefuls – namely, House can- didate John Lewis and a suite of potential state legislators with a strong chance of winning.
“In terms of swinging the Senate race it probably isn’t going to make any difference. It was already such a tall task,” Robert Saldin, an asso- ciate professor of political science at the University of Montana, said. “But when you take into consideration the House seat and the state Leg- islature, it is kind of a game changer.”
Montana Democratic Party officials have scheduled a special nomi- nating convention Aug. 16 in Helena, where they will select a replace- ment candidate for Walsh in the U.S. Senate race.
The convention will start at 9 a.m. at the Lewis and Clark County Fairgrounds, and will include leaders from county party committees, federal and statewide elected officials and the party's executive board. Party spokesman Bryan Watt says the intent is to have a candidate