ELECTIONS/GOP/SUPREME COURT/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Trump’s selection of Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh as his second Supreme Court nominee could be a consequential moment for the midterm elections. Republicans hope a confirmation battle will galvanize voters on the right, while Democrats are balancing their own energized liberal base against the political pressure on some red-state Democrats to side with Mr. Trump. Here is how the elections in November could affect the confirmation process — and vice versa…With 12 years on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and stints as a White House staff secretary, under President George W. Bush, and as an assistant to Kenneth W. Starr, the independent counsel who investigated President Bill Clinton, Judge Kavanaugh has quite the résumé in government. And that could create complications for President Trump and Senate Republicans. When Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, offered his guidance about the court pick to Mr. Trump last week, he cautioned the president that the sheer volume of Judge Kavanaugh’s paperwork from a career in law and politics could hand Democrats the chance to stall a vote.”
-Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns, “What Does the Supreme Court Mean for the Midterm Elections? Here Are 2 Hints,” The New York Times online, July 10, 2018