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But the confirmation fight seems to have revived Republicans and could fill any gap in enthusiasm.
O 'Rourke, a Democrat from El Paso, has spared no effort to make the appointment of judges a problem. Unlike some Democratic senators, he has never shouted his opposition to Kavanaugh from the mountains.
"The events of recent weeks – including Mr. Ford's courageous and hard-hitting testimony – have only reinforced my concern that Judge Kavanaugh is not coming to the bar for Texas to sit. At the Supreme Court we are talking about a lifetime appointment to the highest court in the country, a court that will rule on the right to vote, civil rights, women's rights, workers' rights and the right to vote. equal rights, "said the Democrat earlier this week.
This type of measured opposition – almost veiled – can avoid shaking the moderate and the Republican. It can also disappoint some Democrats.
"He's tackled several problems that, if he's plugged in cleanly, could constitute serious political setbacks for Cruz.This is perhaps the most missed opportunity for O & # 39; Rourke, "said Rottinghaus. "He was a proceduralist rather than a pugilist."
Cruz regularly reminds voters that choosing conservative judges was a top priority for Trump and the Republicans. And he has repeatedly and forcefully accused Democrats of playing partisan games with the Kavanaugh's fight.
"It's monumental" to bring Kavanaugh to the high court, said Missy Shorey, president of the Dallas County GOP. "There is really no ambiguity when you look at Judge Kavanaugh, you understand where he is."
She accused O'Rourke of failing to objectively review the charges against the judge, but disputed the principle that the fight would have made the Texas Republicans more severe.
"We were stimulated," she said. Nevertheless, she said, it reinforced for the Conservatives how important it is to keep Cruz in the Senate. "People like me are furious against the left for using Dr. Ford, disrespecting her confidentiality and making matters worse for her."
Cruz's support has never been in doubt.
He attended the White House presentation of Gorsuch and Kavanaugh, and immediately pledged his support to each and every one of them even though he condemned the Democrats for opposing Kavanaugh before even to have been heard.
He denounced the Democrats for organizing a campaign of partisan defamation. He called for a respectful hearing of Ford and its allegations – and quickly dismissed them as unsubstantiated. For Cruz, it was actually a somewhat reserved approach.
"We did not see the fire burning on Cruz about it," Rottinghaus said, "partly because we did not know how it would end and they wanted to reserve the option of launching the outrage machine. They needed it. "
A survey of Quinnipiac University published two weeks ago – before Ford's testimony – showed a clear partisan split: 92% of Republicans were in favor of confirmation, compared to 77% of Democrats.
Women were about equally divided, while men were in favor of a confirmation of close to 2 to 1, which suggests that credible allegations of sexual assault could lead to potential alternative votes for Democrats if the Republicans did not handle the fight well.
One month away from election day, you'll have time to calm yourself down and run well-crafted ads to stir up the anger of both sides.
"Everyone is very attached to that – it's become a national event – there are a lot of very unhappy people on one side or the other," said Peter A. Brown, Assistant Director Quinnipiac Survey. "Predicting this is just not very easy."
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