Why Democrats are dropping out of Senate races in deep-red states

Democrats trying to unseat Republican senators in deep-red states have pursued a new strategy this year: dropping out.

The Democratic Senate nominees in Nebraska, Idaho and South Dakota — all heavily Republican states — withdrew from the ballot after their primaries, clearing the field for independent candidates. Some Democrats hope that these moderate independents will draw enough crossover support from Republicans and centrist voters who would never back a Democrat to make the races competitive.