On Monday, the day of the ceremony to swear in Brett Kavanaugh, Mitch McConnell, the Senate Majority Leader, said that the confirmation gave Republican voters new optimism heading into the Midterms. House Speaker Paul Ryan concurred with McConnell saying, "I can just see it just from traveling around the country in the last few days, traveling around Wisconsin, the Republican base is definitely animated after this." In a poll done by CBS news, voters in four states: Texas, Tennessee, Arizona, and New Jersey said that they were energized after the hearings and confirmation. In Tennessee and Texas, they said that they wanted to see Kavanaugh appointed to the Supreme Court, in Arizona voters were just about even on whether they wanted him in or out, and in New Jersey, voters did not want Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell R-KYYouTube
The GOP claims that the confirmation energized voters, and that is true, but most likely for the Senate. Republicans are most likely to retain their majority in the Senate, however, the House majority is not swinging their way. In North Dakota, voters are leaning more towards the Republican candidate for Senate. Current Democratic Senator opposed the Kavanaugh confirmation and voted against it last Saturday. Heitkamp made the point that her vote was not about winning her election and that it does not matter whether she will win next month, she had to vote with what she thought was best. In two new polls featured on FiveThirtyEight, Heitkamp is down double digits behind her opponent. In West Virginia, Senator Joe Manchin is up among voters. The Mountaineer voted in favor of confirming Kavanaugh. West Virginia is a ruby-red state where Democrats do not win often. If Manchin pulls out the win, it will show that the Kavanaugh confirmation played a big role in how he won.
Republican enthusiasm is up in a lot of key races. Will they be able to catch up to Democrats in the House? Or will they crack under pressure? Voter turnout is at record numbers already, and it will most likely carry into November. Make sure to watch close Senate races in Texas, Arizona, and Tennessee on election night, and of course, VOTE!
