Judicial group launches third ad buy to push Kavanaugh confirmation

The conservative group lobbying to get President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, confirmed announced on Monday that it’s launching a third ad buy worth $1.5 million.

Judicial Crisis Network’s (JCN) new round of ads targets Sens. Joe Manchin (W.Va.), Heidi Heitkamp (N.D.), Joe Donnelly (Ind.) and Doug Jones (Ala.) — all Democrats who face tough reelections in states won by Trump.

{mosads}The ads all tout Kavanaugh as a great judge for the Supreme Court who treats everyone fairly and has a record of applying the Constitution as it was written.

But each ad notes and criticizes the respective senator for having reservations about confirming the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit judge to a lifetime seat on the Supreme Court.

Manchin, specifically, has expressed concerns about Kavanaugh’s views on health care and whether he would overturn protections for people with pre-existing conditions.

In the ad for West Virginia, JCN calls Manchin’s concern about health care a “dishonest talking point he got from liberal Chuck Schumer,” referring to the Senate minority leader. 

“Tell Joe Manchin you won’t be fooled by his tricks and you won’t forget how he votes on Kavanaugh,” the ad says.

Manchin said after a roundtable discussion with West Virginia voters last week to discuss Kavanaugh that it would be irresponsible to declare support or opposition to any nominee within nine minutes of their announcement.

“I appreciate the constituent input I have received,” he said in a statement following the event. “I will continue to do my due diligence and encourage West Virginians to continue to share their thoughts with me throughout this process,”

Since Kavanaugh was nominated on July 9, Judicial Crisis Network said it has spent $4.5 million in advertising to get him confirmed.

“Judge Kavanaugh is a fair and independent judge who bases his decisions on the Constitution, which is why President Trump nominated him and why a lopsided majority of voters in key states support his confirmation,” Carrie Severino, the group’s chief counsel and policy director, said in a statement.

“Red state Democrats have a choice: stand with their constituents and support President Trump’s extraordinarily qualified Supreme Court nominee, or stand with Chuck Schumer and be a rubber stamp for the extreme liberal special interests.”