Senate

Bill Nelson to vote ‘no’ on Kavanaugh

Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) on Friday announced he would vote against Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court.

The senator made the announcement on Twitter.

Nelson’s tweet came shortly before the Senate Judiciary Committee, of which he is not a member, plans to vote on Kavanaugh’s nomination.

{mosads}This vote would pave the way to end debate on his nomination on Monday in the full Senate and set up a final vote for Tuesday.

Nelson’s announcement comes less than 24 hours after Christine Blasey Ford offered testimony to the committee about her allegation that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her at a party in the 1980s while they were both in high school.

Kavanaugh vehemently denied the allegations in subsequent testimony.

Nelson is one of 10 Democratic senators seeking reelection this fall in states President Trump won in 2016.

A Quinnipiac University poll released Tuesday found him holding a 53 percent to 46 percent lead ahead of current Gov. Rick Scott (R) in the Senate race. 

The RealClearPolitics average of polls has Nelson with a narrow 1.1 point lead.