

After a tumultuous week of Senate hearings, Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court confirmation could hinge on the swing votes of two moderate Republicans.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski from Alaska and Sen. Susan Collins from Maine could vote against party lines to keep Kavanaugh off the Supreme Court.

The Senate Judiciary Committee was set to vote on Kavanaugh’s confirmation Thursday, but amid recent sexual assault allegations against the judge, the vote is postponed.

Among the many issues discussed during last week’s confirmation hearings, Kavanaugh was repeatedly questioned about his stance on abortion and Roe v. Wade, a landmark Supreme Court decision that granted women the constitutional right to abortions.

Kavanaugh acknowledged that Roe v Wade is precedent, but refused to answer whether he’d overturn the decision if appointed to the Court.

Of the two swing voters, Collins has received much attention since she is one of few pro-choice Republicans.

Following her election in 1996, Collins publically supported Roe v. Wade, voted against anti-abortion policies numerous times and received thousands of dollars from pro-abortion rights groups and individuals.

Collins has not publicly said how she intends to vote. Many pro-choice supporters have been pressuring Collins to vote against Kavanaugh’s appointment, either by mailing her office coat hangers or raising money for a future opponent’s campaign.

Maine’s People Alliance and Mainers for Accountable Leadership have crowdsourced $1.3 million for a future Democratic challenger of Collins’ seat if she votes in favor of Kavanaugh.

However, there’s a catch. If Collins votes no, the fundraiser will return all of the pledges to the donors. If she votes yes, the funds raised will support the candidate who runs against Collins in 2020.

On the platform Crowdpac, the crowdfunding campaign has received 49,414 pledges as of Tuesday morning. The effort is just shy of its $1.5 million goal.

Ady Barkan, who helped start the fundraising effort, wrote on Crowdpac that Kavanaugh’s nomination is a “threat to everyday Mainers like us.”

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“Your swing vote could decide whether a rubber stamp for Trump’s anti-healthcare, anti-woman, anti-labor agenda gets confirmed to the Supreme Court—costing millions of Americans their healthcare, their right to choose, and their lives,” Barkan said.

Collins accused the fundraising effort of bribery and bullying, according to a statement given to The Washington Post.

When Collins ran for reelection in 2002, 2008 and 2014, her campaign received a total of $74,312 in donations from pro-choice groups and individuals, a small percentage of her campaign funds.

Most of those donations came from Republican Majority for Choice, a PAC supporting pro-choice Republican candidates. During her 2002 campaign, Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice America also donated to her campaign.

Anti-abortion rights groups and individuals haven’t financially supported any of Collins’ campaigns.

Collins is also viewed favorably in the eyes of pro-abortion organizations. Planned Parenthood gave Collins a 72 percent rating on the organization’s congressional scorecard. A 100 percent rating means the member of Congress always votes with Planned Parenthood’s position.

Conversely, National Right to Life, an anti-abortion organization, rates Collins’ voting record at a 33 percent in support of the group’s cause.

Some lawmakers are calling for a delay in the Senate vote since a recent letter came to light describing a sexual assault accusation against Kavanaugh.

On Sunday, Christine Blasey Ford said Kavanaugh forced himself on her with the help of another classmate while drunk at a party in the early 1980s. The two were both in high school in Maryland at the time.

Collins is among a group of senators calling for the Senate Judiciary Committee to look into Ford’s claims.

“Professor Ford and Judge Kavanaugh should both testify under oath before the Judiciary Committee,” Collins tweeted Monday.

Both Ford and Kavanaugh will testify before the committee in a public hearing on Monday, September 24th.



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