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'Scandal' Finally Has Its Presidential Nominees

by Nicole Pomarico

It's been a tough presidential race to watch on Scandal this season, and now that we're down to the last episode before the Season 5 finale, things are heating up even more. Unfortunately, that means the temporary ceasefire between Abby and Olivia has to come to an end, because with Hollis out of the race to become the republican nominee, things between them could get even worse in the competition between their candidates. But even though she had the perfect way to take Mellie out of the race, Susan Ross concedes, making Mellie the official nominee.

Despite the fact that their rivalry has been on pause while they worked together to get Hollis to drop out, Abby and Olivia both know that eventually, the race would pick back up again. These are both very smart women, so why wouldn't they dig up dirt on each other's candidates to be prepared to win? But when they both have something really, really good on each other, they agree to meet up and exchange what they know. However, without even knowing what dirt Olivia has on Susan, it's obvious Abby has this one in the bag. Because during a secret meeting with Rowan, he told her about Olivia's abortion... with a pregnancy that was half Fitz's.

At first, Abby thought she was just meeting up with Liv, but when she arrived in the Oval Office, everyone was there — Fitz, Susan, Lizzie, Mellie, David Rosen... everyone. There, they make a deal. They expose everyone's secrets, and they'll all agree that one of the women will concede and whoever decides to drop out will be protected — her secret can't get out. After Olivia revealed that she knows about David's deal with Tamarack Sugar in exchange for Florida's support of Susan, it's Abby's turn. But instead of blabbing about Liv's abortion, she goes with her smaller dirt: The fact that Mellie saw a psychic after Jerry's death while she was grieving.

Obviously, they can't let it get out that the Attorney General is making shady deals, because that would make Susan look bad, too, so Susan agrees to concede. Mellie's officially the republican nominee, which is huge. And even better? Abby kept Olivia's secret. When they catch up later, she admits that she knows about Olivia's abortion, and Olivia thanks her for her discretion. She's totally right — It wouldn't hurt her to have that news out, but it would hurt Fitz, since he still doesn't know.

There's only one problem: Rowan knows about her abortion, and that doesn't mean he's going to protect that information. And like Abby says, he's definitely still out to get Olivia, especially after her advice to Edison that got him to drop out of the race. Um, GL, Olivia. Your dad is, like, the scariest guy ever, so you're probably going to need the big guns to fight this one. White hats aren't going to cut it!

Image: Byron Cohen/ABC