Sep 27, 2020 - Politics & Policy

Trump sees court fight as virus respite

Fill That Seat sign

Spotted at Trump's rally last night at Harrisburg International Airport in Middletown, Pa. Photo: Joshua Roberts/Reuters

At a rally in Pennsylvania last night, President Trump basked in adulation for Judge Amy Coney Barrett and said, "She should be running for president!"

Why it matters: She might as well be. The Trump campaign is thrilled to be talking about something besides the president's handling of COVID, and it's going all-in to amp up the court conversation.

The RNC and Trump campaign are planning local events and protests across the country to support Barrett’s confirmation.

  • The RNC will feature the battle in a $10 million digital ad campaign to encourage battleground-state voters to return vote-by-mail ballots or go to the polls, AP's Zeke Miller reports.

A top Republican strategist tells Axios that the court fight could help most of the party's endangered senators — including Thom Tillis (N.C.), Joni Ernst (Iowa) and Steve Daines (Mont.), plus probably David Perdue (Ga.) and possibly Martha McSally (Ariz.)

  • "The unique power of a Supreme Court [nomination] reinforces the importance of the Senate, and could create a lift that we haven’t seen yet because of the president’s weak numbers," the strategist said.

The fight also gives a massive spotlight to Senate Judiciary Chair Lindsey Graham (S.C.), who's in an unexpectedly tight re-election race.

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