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Supreme Court fight scrambles Senate schedule, campaigns

Political Theater, episode 144

The current Supreme Court nomination debate is set to roil Maine Sen. Susan Collins’ reelection race, just as the 2018 high court fight already had.
The current Supreme Court nomination debate is set to roil Maine Sen. Susan Collins’ reelection race, just as the 2018 high court fight already had. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

We thought we were in the home stretch of the 2020 campaign season, with the primaries over and early voting beginning, and then on Sept. 18, another political earthquake shook us when Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died.

Democratic fundraising spiked to the stratosphere, senators prepared for possible hearings and floor votes in October — virtually unheard of in an election year — and several Republicans in tough reelection races find themselves having to address an issue whose impact in close contests is as yet unclear. Just ask Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who will preside over any hearings for a high court nominee. Or ask Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, whose vote to confirm Brett M. Kavanaugh to the court in 2018 was already an issue in her race.

Two of CQ Roll Call’s senior staff writers, who used to team up to cover Senate leadership back in the day, discuss the implications for the Senate as an institution, as well as the effects on 2020 campaigns. Niels Lesniewski and Bridget Bowman discuss what we know, what we don’t know and what we’ll be watching in the coming days and weeks about the latest Supreme Court news.

Show Notes:

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