Two Democratic senators from states President Trump won handily are opposing the confirmation of Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, but their records indicate both followed Obama in lockstep on judicial picks over the course of his administration.
A study found that Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., and Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., both of whom are opposing Gorsuch, and both of whom represent Trump Country, were overwhelmingly supportive of Trump’s predecessor.
McCaskill did not cast a single vote against an Obama judicial nomination from 2009 to 2016. For his part, Tester broke with Obama on only two judicial picks over the course of his administration, Edward Smith and Victor Allen Bolden.
In audio leaked to the Kansas City Star last month, McCaskill, referring to potential Trump nominees for the highest court, privately told Democratic donors that Gorsuch “was one of the better ones.” Tester also acknowledged the judge is a “smart man” in a statement announcing his decision to vote against Gorsuch’s confirmation.
Both senators are up for re-election in 2018 and will face electorates that cast 57 percent of their ballots for Trump in 2016. Their work of persuading Trump-friendly states to send them back to Washington may be complicated by these patterns of partisanship.
Emily Jashinsky is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
