If the Ds thought Kavanaugh would drop out like Cain did, they missed how differently situated they were. Dropping out cost Cain nothing (except NOT having a lot of headaches and maybe legal expenses). Had Kavanaugh dropped out, he would have lost everything: he would have been hounded off the DC Circuit Court of Appeals; his law license would have been attacked; his family.
IOW, the Ds failed to realize that the Anita Hill Strategy is not one-size-fits-all.