Now, it’s hard to be a Democrat who wants to run for office in South Dakota. They don’t stand much of a chance in a very red state.

But, the Democrats had finally settled on an attorney named Ryan Ryder to run for a House seat against Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-SD). However, there was an immediate problem. Because the first thing that media does now when you declare for office is to check your social media to see what they can find. In the case of Ryder, they found a lot of disturbing things.

In one tweet, he thought about making an animated video about killing Johnson’s family. In another, he wished Jan. 6, 2021, rioters had gotten their hands on his opponent, Rep. Johnson. In a third, he spoke about masturbating to a photo of Republican Gov. Kristi Noem.

On Wednesday, the party was still trying to defend him. South Dakota Democratic Party Executive Director Berk Ehrmantraut said the party was still supporting Ryder.

But by Thursday, the blowback was just too much, and they knew they were in trouble with him.

“The South Dakota Democratic Party has determined it is not appropriate for Mr. Ryder to continue in this race and requested that he end his candidacy, which he has agreed to,” Ehrmantraut said in a statement posted on the party website

Ryder issued a statement withdrawing, saying the tweets were all just a “poor attempt at sarcastic humor.”

Ryan Ryder is dropping out of the race for South Dakota’s lone congressional seat. Here’s a statement: pic.twitter.com/0q68lhd0RY

— Austin Goss (@AustinGossSD) March 3, 2022

South Dakota Republican Party Chair Dan Lederman called Ryder “a contemptible candidate,” and said the Democrats never should have supported him to begin with.

“If he is going to run for office, Ryder needs to figure out which of his faces he’s going to be talking out of,” Lederman said in a statement to Dakota News Now. “The one which says he is ‘not interested in personal attacks or mudslinging,’ or the one which says it was ‘too bad’ rioters didn’t get Dusty Johnson on January 6th.”

Democrats are already going to be in trouble in November. They’re likely to face a red wave, particularly given the horror show of a Biden presidency making Americans run madly away from voting for Democrats. The Republicans have the edge on enthusiasm, according to the polls. About the only chance Democrats have is desperate attempts at redistricting, gerrymandering the districts as they are doing in New York, effectively swiping seats even before the election. This, even as they lie about Republicans trying to cut off people from voting. But, they don’t help themselves when they put up candidates without even doing the simplest check on them.

Add another one to the list of Democrats who have pulled out of running — and increase the chances of that huge red wave come November.