A conservative judicial group on Monday rolled out the third wave of a campaign aimed at pressuring red state Democrats to support Judge Brett Kavanaugh, President Trump’s nominee to the Supreme Court.
The $1.5 million ad buy from Judicial Crisis Network focuses on West Virginia, North Dakota, Indiana, and Alabama. Alongside the ads, Judicial Crisis Network also released polling from North Star Opinion Research that measured support for Kavanaugh’s confirmation among voters in the four states.
“Red state Democrats have a choice: stand with their constituents and support President Trump’s extraordinarily qualified Supreme Court nominee, or stand with Chuck Schumer and be a rubber stamp for the extreme liberal special interests,” Carrie Severino, Judicial Crisis Network’s chief counsel and policy director, said in a statement.
The ads name Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, Joe Donnelly of Indiana, who are all up for re-election in November, as well as Doug Jones of Alabama.
Manchin, Donnelly and Heitkamp also supported Justice Neil Gorsuch’s confirmation to the high court last year.
Judicial Crisis Network’s ads paint the upcoming vote on Kavanaugh’s nomination as a choice between standing with their constituents or “liberal” senators such as Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
Kavanaugh’s nomination this month kicked off a fierce and costly battle for his confirmation, with advocacy groups on both the left and the right launching ad campaigns designed to either tank or bolster his confirmation.
Judicial Crisis Network has shelled out $5.3 million since Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement from the Supreme Court late last month.
