-Source-The Hill-
After Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the Supreme Court, Democrats are looking for a silver lining: winning back the House.
While the bitter nomination battle has revved up the GOP base - and boosted the party’s chances of keeping the Senate - Democrats believe Kavanaugh’s confirmation will further alienate the moderate and independent suburban women who will likely determine the fate of the House.
“This is going to mean that we win more Dem seats than we would have without this. This is absolutely going to help us in the House,” Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), vice-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, told The Hill.
“These independent women who are so critical will sit it out and just not vote, which will help Democrats, or they will come out and vote for a Democrat.”
Underscoring the point, hundreds of demonstrators, many of them women, descended on Senate office buildings this past week to protest Kavanaugh’s nomination and to deliver an ominous message to the GOP: “November is coming.”
“That’s a sign of things to come,” said Brad Bannon, a Democratic strategist. “When reality hits that this guy, despite everything that went on, is going to sit on the Supreme Court ... it will further energize women who are disturbed, frustrated and upset - and who want to make a statement this November.”
Kavanaugh’s nomination has been embroiled in controversy since Christine Blasey Ford, a college professor from California, accused him of sexually assaulting her when the two were in high school more than three decades ago.
Two women have since come forward with their own sexual misconduct allegations against Kavanaugh, all of which he has denied.
After the vote was delayed by a week so that the FBI could conduct a supplemental background investigation, the Senate on Saturday narrowly voted to confirm Kavanaugh.
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) crossed party lines to support the nominee, while Sen. Lisa Murkowksi (R-Alaska) was the lone Republican not to support Kavanaugh.
But Democratic, and even some Republican strategists, are warning that his confirmation could further exacerbate the GOP’s problem with women voters, who are more likely to turn out in a midterm election. Read more
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