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Senate Democrats Up for 2018 Re-Election Getting Pressed on Gorsuch

Politicians at home join chorus of Senate Republicans pushing for confirmation

Sens. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, left, and Jon Tester, D-Mont., are facing pressure from Republicans back home to confirm Judge Neil Gorsuch. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call file photo)
Sens. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, left, and Jon Tester, D-Mont., are facing pressure from Republicans back home to confirm Judge Neil Gorsuch. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call file photo)

Senate Democrats up for re-election in 2018 are being pressed by Republicans to confirm President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee.

In Wisconsin, Gov. Scott Walker criticized Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin for opposing Judge Neil Gorsuch’s confirmation before meeting with him.

Similarly, the state’s Republican Attorney General Brad Schimel agreed with Walker and said Senate Republicans’ successful effort to block President Barack Obama’s nominee Merrick Garland before he left office was “reasonable.”

“I don’t know what the cutoff is, but I do feel within six months of an open-seat election, which is what we had — there was no incumbent — I think within that time period, it is reasonable and there’s plenty of precedent for it,” Schimel said, according the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

In Ohio, Sen. Sherrod Brown is being criticized by Dave Yost, a Republican candidate for attorney general in the state, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

“There’s an old proverb that says a fool judges a matter before he’s heard it,” said Yost, who is currently state auditor. “And I’m calling on Sen. Sherrod Brown to rescind his original position, to have an open mind, and judge this matter on the merits.”

Similarly, in Indiana, Sen. Joe Donnelly saw protesters outside of his office at Fort Wayne according to a local news station. Protesters included people from the anti-abortion Susan B. Anthony List and Indiana GOP Rep. Todd Rokita.

In Montana, Sen. Jon Tester, who has said Gorsuch deserves a hearing and a vote, has seen pressure from fellow Montana Sen. Steve Daines, who held a news conference to push Tester on a vote.

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