DEMS/SENATE/SUPREME COURT/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia is on track to be the only Senate Democrat to break ranks with his party and vote to elevate Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. A final confirmation vote is not expected until Saturday [10-6-18], but Manchin came out in support of Kavanaugh on Friday [10-5-18], releasing a statement immediately after Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine said that she too would back the nominee in a lengthy Senate floor speech. Manchin’s announcement immediately made him a target of sharp criticism and highlighted the unique and at times complicated position the red state Democrat running for re-election in 2018 occupies within his own party and in the Senate…Recent polls have shown Manchin with a lead in his 2018 race. But an increasingly polarized political environment has made him vulnerable all the same. Republicans will keep attacking Manchin in an attempt to flip his Senate seat no matter how many times he decides to cross the aisle and vote to advance their party’s priorities instead of his own.”
–Clare Foran, “Manchin expected to be only Democrat to back Kavanaugh,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, October 5, 2018 7:26 pm