I’m rarely surprised anymore by something I see in Nebraska politics, but this one is a genuine shocker. Hal Daub is dropping out of the race for U.S. Senate. Even as news leaked out of his announcement, scheduled for Friday morning, Daub’s campaign ads - which began airing this week - were peppering the airwaves. Word is that he’s getting out because he doesn’t think he can beat Johanns. But surely that played into his political calculus two weeks ago when he announced and Johanns was a better-than-even shot to get into the race? Or after Johanns announced and Daub decided to go on the air a full seven and a half months prior to election day? No, there’s something deeper at play here. If it is because of Johanns, it’s more likely that Daub was pressured or nudged out of the race.