Incoming Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer called on Alan Grayson to drop out of the Florida Senate race. | Getty Grayson campaign unravels amid calls to quit

Rep. Alan Grayson’s troubled Senate campaign continued to unravel on Wednesday, as several staffers resigned and a chorus of Democrats called on him to quit the race, including the party’s future Senate leader.

The developments came in the wake of a POLITICO report about domestic-abuse claims by his ex-wife and a hot-tempered confrontation Grayson then had with a POLITICO reporter.


“I’ve never thought much about Grayson as a candidate ... And now it’s of course much, much worse. He ought to do the right thing and drop out,” said Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who’s set to succeed Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid next year. Reid had already backed Grayson's opponent in the August 30 primary, Rep. Patrick Murphy, and called on Grayson to quit the race months ago.

“All of these things he has done, this tops the cake. Allegations of abuse and the way he treats it shows you that he is a bully,” said Schumer, who endorsed Murphy last year.

“He sort of gave even more credence to the allegations the way he treated that poor Mr. Isaac Dovere,” Schumer continued, referring to Grayson’s confrontation with Edward-Isaac Dovere on Tuesday. Earlier that day, POLITICO reported that Grayson's ex-wife, Lolita Grayson, filed at least four domestic-violence police reports against Grayson over a 20-year period of their marriage.

Schumer did not say whether Grayson should resign his House seat: “I’ll leave that up to others, but he should drop himself out of this race.”

Grayson has denied ever beating his ex-wife, calling the allegations “ridiculous.” His campaign said that he’s not quitting the race. "Democratic voters in Florida, not out-of-touch party bosses in Washington, D.C., will be choosing our Senate nominee," Grayson's campaign manager, Michael Ceraso, said in statement.

Moments before Schumer made his comments, Grayson’s political director and three field staffers announced they were leaving his Senate campaign, according to The Tampa Bay Times. It is the second staff shakeup of his troubled campaign. The departures came a day after Grayson’s fundraising and mail vendor, Revolution Messaging, announced it was quitting.

Two liberal groups, Democracy for America and the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, also withdrew their endorsements of Grayson.

Meanwhile on Wednesday, Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said Grayson should be kicked out of the group.

“Alan Grayson gives progressives a bad name and he’s an embarrassment,” said Huffman, who is trying to collect votes on the caucus to have Grayson banned. “Having served with him for the past four years, it has been like watching a dumpster fire that would not stop burning. His political style is over-the-top and provocative. It extends to things like personal grudges in his votes, erratic behavior, and his efforts to hijack the progressive caucus.”

Huffman said that “in isolation,” he would give Grayson the benefit of the doubt on the domestic abuse claims form his past. But Grayson has repeatedly shown himself to be a “bully,” Huffman said, including in the run-in with the POLITICO reporter. He said the video of the encounter helped make the battery claims against Grayson more believable. "Fits like a glove," the congressman said.

Ceraso responded by calling Huffman an "out-of-state character assassin."

Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) was more measured than Huffman, but still critical.

“The allegations against Congressman Grayson are profoundly disturbing and if proven to have any foundation should disqualify him from public office,” Coons said. “My hope is he will seriously reconsider his candidacy and if there is a shred of truth to the allegations of domestic abuse over many years that he will withdraw in the best interest of country and out of a simple sense of decency.”

Florida Rep. Lois Frankel also has endorsed Murphy and said Grayson should now consider quitting.

"Grayson is a seriously flawed candidate. The stakes are high. Democrats must win in Florida," she said. "He should take a deep breathe and reevaluate staying in the race."

Florida and national Democrats have grown increasingly nervous about the Florida Senate race now that Sen. Marco Rubio changed his mind and decided in June to seek reelection. Many worry that Grayson, who’s now attacking Murphy in TV ads, will damage the party’s chances of winning the seat in a year that should be favorable to Democrats.

Some Democrats have been wary of jabbing Grayson now for fear of allowing him to argue the Democratic establishment is trying to push him out.

