The Club for Growth is planning a $5 million advertising blitz to gain voter support for President Trump’s forthcoming Supreme Court nominee and shield from Democratic attacks the Republican senators who will vote on her confirmation.
The prominent conservative advocacy group will run television ads and digital spots nationally and in states where the battle for Senate control will be decided, moving to provide financial reinforcement to vulnerable Republican senators while encouraging those who may not support the nominee to back her. Senate Republicans hold a three-seat edge heading into the November elections, with Democratic challengers putting forward stiff competition in at least seven states.
“We’ve already started engaging grassroots conservatives,” Club for Growth President David McIntosh told Politico, which first reported the news of the group’s Supreme Court strategy.
The Club for Growth plans to run ads in Alabama, where Republican nominee Tommy Tuberville is expected to easily defeat incumbent Democratic Sen. Doug Jones, and in Montana, where Republican Sen. Steve Daines is facing an aggressive challenge from Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock. The group might also advertise in Alaska and Utah to put pressure on Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Mitt Romney, respectively, to confirm Trump’s Supreme Court nominee.
The Club for Growth declined Thursday to detail the additional states it expects to play in. Senate Republicans appear to have the votes to confirm Trump’s nominee, which he is expected to unveil Saturday. The issue can cut for and against both parties, depending on the Senate race. For instance, the confirmation battle could help Democratic challengers flip Senate seats in Colorado and Maine, but it could help incumbent Republicans hand on Iowa and North Carolina.
Since Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died on Friday, Democratic Senate candidates have raised hundreds of millions of dollars for Senate races from grassroots activists.
Democrats worry Trump’s nominee to replace the iconic liberal justice will put a conservative lock on the court for a generation. Democrats also complain that filling the seat should wait until after the presidential election, citing Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s decision to block Barack Obama from appointing a successor to conservative Justice Antonin Scalia, who died in February 2016, on the grounds that it was an election year.
McConnell has said that his rule about delaying the appointment of new justices only applies when the Senate and the White House are controlled by opposing parties.
