Leo's finger tapped lightly on the desk.
"The reason?"
"They have to give you a reason, John. Your poll numbers are rising, you have momentum. They can't just force a promising candidate to drop out for no reason."
"The reason?"
Murphy let out a dry, bitter laugh.
"The reason is you. The reason is that damn antitrust lawsuit."
"They said the lawsuit over the Pittsburgh Port franchise is turning into a national scandal."
"This isn't just some local legal dispute anymore, Leo."
"The Republican Party is using this to attack us, calling us a corrupt local Democratic clique and accusing us of crony capitalism. They're running these attacks on every TV station in the country, twenty-four hours a day."
"They've spread this fire across the entire Swing State, and it's even starting to affect the elections in Ohio and Michigan."
Murphy took a deep breath, repeating the exact words of the party bigwigs.
