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Democrats already have a better-than-even chance of losing control of the Senate to Republicans in the midterm elections in November.

Now, they could be losing their incumbent candidate in Montana less than three months before voters head to the polls.

Sen. John Walsh has gone AWOL from the campaign trail following a damaging plagiarism revelation, and the state Democratic Party is reviewing its options for replacing him on the ballot if he quits the race in the next few days.

The deadline for Walsh to withdraw is coming up on Aug. 11, and his campaign has not responded to inquiries from The Wire or other outlets about whether he plans to return to the campaign trail.

An Iraq combat veteran who served as lieutenant governor, Walsh, 53, was appointed to the Senate seat vacated when Sen. Max Baucus became U.S. ambassador to China.

While Democrats knew it would tough to hold the seat in a red state, they thought Walsh could at least give them a decent chance against the Republican nominee, first-term Rep. Steve Daines.

But then in July, The New York Times reported that Walsh, while a master's candidate at the United States Army War College "appropriated at least a quarter of his thesis on American Middle East policy from other authors’ works, with no attribution."