Debbie Stabenow facing pressure to approve Trump's next Supreme Court pick

A right-wing group has launched a digital ad campaign pressuring Sen. Debbie Stabenow to support whoever Trump nominates to the Supreme Court to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy.

The ad, by the Karl Rove-connected group One Nation, urges Stabenow to "say no to the left" and "help put another great justice on the Supreme Court." Stabenow is one of nine Democrat senators who've been targeted. All are up for re-election in states won by Trump.

“This is merely the first step in our full-fledged advocacy campaign for the nomination and confirmation of a constitutional conservative to the U.S. Supreme Court,” One Nation President and CEO Steven Law says in a statement posted to the group's website.

Some Democrats are calling on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell
to delay a vote until after the midterm elections, when their party could take the Senate and have a better shot at blocking a nominee. Stabenow does not appear to be among them.

In a statement issued this week, Stabenow signaled she would only support a moderate Supreme Court nominee. Because the justice will replace Kennedy, a moderate conservative who served as the court's swing vote, a conservative pick could turn the court into a rubber stamp for the right-wing agenda for years to come.

“This Supreme Court vacancy represents a very serious and consequential moment for our country," Stabenow says in the statement. "We have two choices. We can take this opportunity to make progress on health care, women’s reproductive health, voting rights, workers’ rights, marriage equality, environmental protections, and so many more issues that affect our quality of life in America; or we can turn the clock back on these critical issues.

"Given the importance of the decisions before the Supreme Court, the U.S. Senate must come together in a bipartisan way to fill this vacancy with a mainstream Justice. What we do at this moment will have a lasting impact on Michigan families.”

Stabenow voted against Trump's last Supreme Court nominee, the conservative Neil Gorsuch. She appears poised to win re-election, meaning there's not much incentive for her to break from her party on the issue.

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