- Republicans fear that a failure to confirm Supreme Court nominee Mitch McConnell could hurt their chances of keeping House and Senate majorities in the midterm elections.
- Kavanaugh is facing multiple sexual misconduct allegations, prompting an additional hearing with the Senate Judiciary Committee slated for Thursday.
- Polling suggests Republican voters are already in deep trouble ahead of the 2018 elections this November.
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'You can kiss the midterms goodbye': Republicans fear for their election fate if Democrats defeat Brett Kavanaugh
"If the Republicans do not get this vote taken and have Kavanaugh confirmed, you can kiss the midterms goodbye," Rush Limbaugh said on his radio show Monday. "You can kiss goodbye holding the House and you can kiss goodbye holding the Senate.
WASHINGTON — One of Republicans' biggest selling points on the campaign trail is the record pace of conservative federal judges the Senate has confirmed since Donald Trump became president.
But with the scandals surrounding Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh putting his confirmation on thin ice, the fear of failure is hanging over the heads of many Republicans in tough election bids this November.
The Republican Party base rallied around Trump in 2016 in part because of the near-yearlong Supreme Court vacancy held open by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in the wake of the sudden death of Justice Antonin Scalia. Now, the GOP must contend with Kavanaugh's confirmation potentially falling apart, a move that could be fatal for enthusiasm among the Republican base.
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Republican aides and operatives fear an already unenthusiastic base of GOP voters could be discouraged by Senate Republicans' failure to shepherd Kavanaugh through and onto the Supreme Court.
GOP aides told Business Insider that it's do or die with Kavanaugh, which Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made clear was their highest priority on the Senate floor Monday.
"It remains beyond reasonable dispute that Judge’s legal brilliance and excellence on the bench make him one of the very most qualified Supreme Court nominees in the history of our country," he said.All these facts are quite clearly on one side.Maybe that’s why the Democrats are so panicked. Maybe that’s why they are so willing to try to bring down this nominee."
And it is not just the political class sounding the alarm about losing the core group of voters Republicans depend on to turnout in November. Right wing talk radio host Rush Limbaugh warned Republicans of the consequences of not confirming Kavanaugh by Election Day.
"The truth is I've never sexually assaulted anyone, in high school or otherwise," Kavanaugh told Fox host Martha . "I am not questioning and have not questioned that perhaps Dr. Ford at some point in her life was sexually assaulted by someone at some place, but what I know is I've never sexually assaulted anyone."
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