The tumult of Kavanaugh in the Senate supplies G.O.P. Races for governor and home

WASHINGTON – While Senate hearings on Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh were dividing the country, Ron DeSantis, Republican nominee for Florida 's governorship, remained largely out of the unusual reluctance to go to the polls. a politician who usually likes partisan battles.

But last weekend, Mr. DeSantis had changed his tone.

"These people really degrade the Senate," he said of the Democrats at a campaign rally shortly after the Senate voted, mostly in the party's direction, to confirm the most recent system. Justice of the Supreme Court. "What they did was a shame."

This line of attack, refined by Republican senators to protect Judge Kavanaugh against charges of sexual assault, then resumed in a tight race by Senate candidates, ignites across the political landscape in contests for governor, the House of Representatives and other positions that have nothing to do with the confirmation process. While many Republicans were unsure at first about how to deal with the charges against Judge Kavanaugh, some are now determined to exploit the indignation of their main constituents and make him a central issue in the race. to vote to counter the left energy.

In many of the tightest and most closely watched mid-term competitions in the country, the focus now is on finding the right words and messages so that anger against Judge Kavanaugh remains a powerful motivator to the day. elections. Many Republicans think that by describing it as a victim of political sabotage, they will have a final argument to help unify a split party, anxious to keep control of the House and Senate in November.

Representative Duncan Hunter, a California Republican defending his seat while under the charge of charges related to corruption, welcomed the Senate vote 50-48 Saturday, while he crawled against "The despicable lengths of the radical left will intimidate, intimidate and cry against those with whom they disagree."

Representative Pete Olson, a Texas Republican facing a more competitive fight than usual for his reelection at his Houston-area headquarters, attack "vicious supporters are trying to destroy a man above their political differences".

And the chairman of the National Republican Congress Committee, Rep. Steve Stivers, boasted Monday in an interview with Fox News that the battle of confirmation had led to a sharp rise in fundraising. At the same time, he asked people to go to the group's website and do more.

The Kavanaugh fight should do more to help Republican candidates in the Senate than the seats in the Swing House, which argue mainly in the suburbs for local reasons and, in some cases, lack critical masses of conservative voters. Moreover, attacking the Democrats with a thunder of indignation is not a tactic universally adopted within the party, reflecting a gap on how Republicans think they should address the delicate issues raised by Kavanaugh's confirmation, to about gender equality, abuse and sexual assault.

As an example of this Republican split, Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin, who is seeking a third term, has largely avoided mentioning the issue, while Senate Party candidate Leah Vukmir has repeatedly invoked the issue. his Democratic opponent, Senator Tammy Baldwin.

In Nevada, Senator Dean Heller also avoided the issue after making a widely criticized remark that the allegations would be a "failure" in the confirmation process. And in Arizona, the relatively unassuming support of Representative Martha McSally to Judge Kavanaugh speaks volumes about the sensitivity of the issue in her race in the Senate.

She is running to replace Senator Jeff Flake, the Republican who has almost delayed single-issue confirmation by a week after asking for further investigation into the allegations.

But despite all the potential liabilities, turning Judge Kavanaugh's fate into a political cause has created a sense of cohesion among Republicans that has eluded the party for most of the last decade, while a hushed civil war between the base activist and leaders. in Washington, collegiality and collaboration have been extremely difficult.

"This has unified the establishment and the far right for the first time in years," said Stephen K. Bannon, who congratulated Senator Mitch McConnell, a Republican leader whom he had once pledged to overthrow, for having succeeded in convincing.

"And they are united now because they have seen the future," said Mr. Bannon. "If the Democrats come to the House, this is what it will look like every day. It's not just a matter of removing Trump, but Kavanaugh's removal of the entire Trump program. "

(Mr. McConnell stated that hearing Mr. Bannon's approval equals "experiencing an out-of-body experience.")

Democrats and Liberal advocacy groups, however, feel the opportunity to galvanize voters by reversing the problem of vulnerable Republican elected officials, particularly in races where suburban women could be a crucial electoral bloc. And over the past week, they have strengthened their efforts.

Naral, an abortion rights group, announced on Monday that it would spend $ 1 million for an ad campaign attacking seven House Republicans. "At the moment, women are attacked," says The campaign's first advertising address is to Representative Peter Roskam, whose highly competitive neighborhood includes the affluent suburbs located to the west of Chicago. Until now, Mr. Roskam has not said much about Kavanaugh's confirmation.

In Wisconsin, Republican candidate Vukmir accused Kavanaugh's opponents of being not only dishonest, but weak. "I will not do the loop," she writes in a Opinion piece for Fox News before the Senate vote. "And I will force other weak-minded elected officials to defend themselves, to do what is right and to ignore the absurd schemes of the extreme left."

In Montana, Matt Rosendale, Republican candidate in the Senate, takes a similar approach. Monday his campaign released a new ad trying to tie his Democratic opponent, Senator Jon Tester, to a "radical left" effort to defeat Judge Kavanaugh.

In states and districts where candidates base their appeal on a reputation for political independence – and not on loyalty to or dislike for the president – some Republicans see an opportunity to undermine the Democrats with conservative voters who have supported candidates from both parties in the past.

Rep. Of North Dakota Republican Kevin Cramer, who wants to overthrow state Democratic Senator Heidi Heitkamp, ​​said his vote against Judge Kavanaugh proved that she was more attached to her party than she do not pretend. For her part, Ms. Heitkamp said her vote was based on questions she had about her temperament and impartiality. "It's not politics," she said.

Mr. Kramer was not in agreement. "In my opinion," he said, "so that she does not vote, she explodes the whole thing: she is independent".