It's Monday, October 17, and Day 246 since Justice Antonin Scalia died and Mitch McConnell decided no nominee would get any Senate attention: No meetings, no hearings, no votes. It's also Day 215 since Merrick Garland was nominated by President Obama to fill that vacancy.
Arizona Sen. John McCain is ratcheting up that obstruction, promising there won't be any filling of any Supreme Court vacancies for Hillary Clinton. But here's the good news: Senate Republicans are cash-strapped going into the final three weeks of the campaign.
Republicans are set to be massively outspent on TV ads in seven of the eight states that are likely to decide control of the chamber. The spending disadvantage could badly hinder the GOP’s prospects, and it has led to growing frustration among the party’s top strategists—many of whom are convinced it’s long past time to cut Trump loose and focus almost exclusively on preserving the Senate majority.
Republicans say they are particularly concerned that Democrats will use their financial advantage to tie the GOP candidates to an increasingly toxic Trump, who is now besieged by numerous accusations of sexual assault. In the New Hampshire Senate race—where Democrats have seized on GOP Sen. Kelly Ayotte’s errant debate comment that Trump “absolutely” was a role model for children, which she hastily retracted—Democrats have booked nearly $16 million of TV airtime between Oct. 11 and Nov. 8, while Republicans have set aside over $12 million, according to a media tracking source. In Indiana, where another key contest is unfolding, Democrats are set to air over $7 million worth of commercials during the same time frame, while Republicans have booked around $4 million.
And in Pennsylvania, the gap is particularly large. Democrats, who tied Republican Sen. Pat Toomey to Trump in another new ad last week, have reserved $17 million of TV airtime there—more than double the $8 million Republicans are set to air.
Can you chip in $3 to each of these candidates to end Mitch McConnell's Senate leadership?
Frustrated you don’t live in a swing state? Click here to sign up for a phonebanking shift with MoveOn. You’ll be calling voters in the swing states in no time.
They'll always have the Kochs, but at the moment the Kochs aren't spending on ads, and aren't helping to counter the Trump toxicity. They can't have door-knockers hit every Republican voter, and also have to counter Democratic enthusiasm.
All of which means McCain's dream of a shrinking Supreme Court will likely not come true. That would be a great thing for our country—which at one time meant something to McCain.