The judiciary receives plenty of attention in our politics. Politicians praise or rail against judicial decisions, especially those of the Supreme Court. And they spend even more time fighting over judicial appointments, knowing judges confirmed to the courts likely will spend the next several decades determining judicial policy for the country. During former President Donald Trump’s first term, for example, it seemed that then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) thought his main job was to place originalist judges on the federal bench.
Campaign season is no different. Though no judges, including those on the Supreme Court, are (or can be) up for election, how they vote affects how the people vote. Polling suggests the issue of Supreme Court nominees had a significant, possibly decisive, impact in electing Trump in 2016. This election has been dominated by the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade, as well as its rulings regarding presidential power and immunity from prosecution.
