MORRISTOWN – Losing an endorsement less than two weeks before an election is probably not a good thing.

That just happened in Morris County to A.J. Oliver, a Democratic candidate for the county commission. He and his two running mates had been endorsed by NJ 11th for Change, a grassroots group that was instrumental in the 2018 election of Rep. Mikie Sherrill.

No longer.

NJ 11th for Change issued a release Wednesday retracting its endorsement of Oliver.

Huh?

“This week it came to light that Oliver …. has been concealing the fact he is actually a vocal, anti-choice activist,” the statement said.

The statement included a short video clip of Oliver reportedly speaking about abortion alternatives to what was described as an “anti-choice group,” – Democrats for Life of America. The statement said continuing to endorse Oliver would violate the group’s support for feminism and women’s rights.

NJ 11th for Change said its endorsement of Oliver’s running mates – T.C. McCourt and Dina Mikulka – remains.

Democrats have elected only one “freeholder” in the county’s known history, so the party has a tough battle in Morris to begin with.

Having an endorsement retracted doesn’t help.

At this point, it seems instructive to ponder the changing currents of today’s politics.

It really wasn’t all that long ago when neither party demanded 100 percent agreement on an issue as emotional and personal as abortion.

So, we had some pro-choice Republicans and some pro-life Democrats.

The accepted view at the time in both parties was that views on abortion were not a deal-breaker. There are, you know, other important issues.

Those days are apparently gone.