Judicial advocacy organizations are taking to the airwaves with competing campaigns as the Senate grapples with how to proceed with the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court after a California professor accused him of sexual assault more than 30 years ago.
Judicial Crisis Network, a group that has spent millions in support of Kavanaugh’s nomination, is planning to launch a $1.5 million TV ad campaign that features a longtime friend of Kavanaugh’s, a spokeswoman for the group said.
“We are not going to allow a last-minute smear campaign to destroy a good and decent man who has an unblemished personal record,” the spokeswoman said.
Throughout the nomination process, Judicial Crisis Network has spent more than $5 million urging senators to back Kavanaugh’s nomination to the high court.
Meanwhile, Demand Justice, a liberal judicial advocacy group, will roll out a $700,000 campaign to ramp up the pressure on a group of undecided Republicans in the Senate, according to reports.
The group is planning to focus on Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Cory Gardner of Colorado, and Dean Heller of Nevada.
Collins and Murkowski are considered key votes for Republicans in the Senate, where the GOP controls 51 seats. Heller, meanwhile, is on the ballot in November.
[Susan Collins: Kavanaugh and his accuser ‘should both testify’]
Kavanaugh’s confirmation was thrust into chaos after Christine Blasey Ford detailed to the Washington Post an alleged incident involving Kavanaugh that occurred during a house party in the early 1980s, when the two were in high school.
Ford accused Kavanaugh of pinning her down on a bed, groping her, and attempting to remove her clothes.
Kavanaugh has said the allegation is “completely false.”
Two women who dated Kavanaugh came to his defense, saying the behavior alleged by Ford does not match their experiences with Kavanaugh.
“Brett Kavanaugh and I have been good friends since high school. I dated him in college and he was and is nothing like the person who has been described,” Maura Fitzgerald said in a statement. “He always conducted himself honorably with me at all times when we were together. He was always a perfect gentleman, and I vouch for him completely.”
The second woman, Maura Kane, said she has been friends with Kavanaugh for more than 35 years and dated him in high school.
“In every situation where we were together he always respectful, kind and thoughtful,” Kane said. “The accusations leveled against him in no way represent the decent young man I knew. We remain good friends and I admire him as a husband, father and professional.”
Several senators, including multiple Republicans, have called for the Senate Judiciary Committee to hear Ford out.
Some Democrats, meanwhile, want the Senate Judiciary Committee to postpone its upcoming vote on Kavanaugh’s nomination.
The vote, scheduled for Thursday, remains on the committee’s agenda.
