Chuck Edwards is toast

These two state senators would be good replacements in the Congressional race

Chuck Edwards is toast.

That is no longer a hot take or a prediction about how voters might respond to ugly allegations. It is the unavoidable political conclusion from the House Ethics Committee report released Monday.

The bipartisan committee found that Edwards violated the House Code of Official Conduct through persistent and inappropriate conduct toward two young women who worked for him. It recommended that the full House formally censure him.

The report details genuinely creepy behavior and describes two young employees struggling to establish boundaries with a powerful boss before ultimately leaving Congress. I am not going to mine their experiences for lurid details. Readers can examine the report for themselves.

My focus is on what it means politically, and the answer is simple. Edwards cannot run a credible campaign after this.

His campaign’s response makes matters worse. Consultant Paul Shumaker issued a statement claiming that the findings “completely exonerate” Edwards and tha…