WASHINGTON – Furious protesters vowed to unleash their anger at the ballot box this fall and future elections as it appeared more likely Friday that Judge Brett Kavanaugh would win approval to the Supreme Court in a close Senate vote.

Democrats, sex-assault survivors and women’s rights organizations have angrily lashed out upon Capitol Hill during the Kavanaugh confirmation process, driven in part by their belief that his appointment will threaten access to abortion and tip the Supreme Court scales toward a more conservative United States.

They've been horrified by President Donald Trump's mocking of a woman who says she was sexually assaulted by Kavanaugh in high school, and angered by Republican senators who suggested they're paid protesters.

Senators on Friday morning advanced Kavanaugh's nomination on a 51-49 vote, and set a final vote as soon as this weekend. Friday, their anger hit a boiling point as Maine Republican Susan Collins and West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin said they'd support Kavanaugh, a day after mass arrests on Capitol Hill that included comedian Amy Schumer and model Emily Ratajkowski.

“I thought this was a country where women’s rights mattered,” said Seonjae Kim, 26, an immigrant from South Korea, who choked up thinking about the vote. “If ... Kavanaugh is confirmed, I will focus my energy and encourage others to focus their energy on flipping the Senate and the House,” she said.

The anger had been building for weeks, encapsulated by the gone-viral elevator encounter between Sen. Jeff Flake, Ana Maria Archila, 39, the co-executive director of the Center for Popular Democracy, and Maria Gallagher, 23, a recent college graduate who tearfully shouted, "Look at me and tell me that it doesn't matter what happened to me." Archila and Gallagher tried to persuade Flake to change his mind, offering their own stories of sex assaults.

Outside Flake's office on Friday, tension erupted between opposing groups, and a handful of anti-Kavanaugh protesters began chanting “traitors to women, traitors to humanity!” at a largely female group of protesters supporting Kavanaugh.

And after announcing his plan to vote in favor, Manchin was at one point surrounded by women shouting "Shame! Shame! Shame!"

Friday afternoon, dozens of protesters also shouted angrily from the Senate gallery before Collins announced her decision. Collins herself acknowledged the vitriol: "Today we have come to the conclusion of a confirmation process that has become so dysfunctional, it looks more like a caricature of a gutter-level political campaign than a solemn occasion."

Protesters held out hope to the last minute of Collins' nearly 45-minute speech.

"I think the next step will be left to the American people and the rage that they feel," said Tatiana Seryan, 41, who is from New York City but has protested in Washington, D.C. for more than a month.

More:GOP releases summary of FBI report on Kavanaugh: 'No corroboration of the allegations'

As word spread that Collins and Manchin planned to vote yes, the atmosphere became palpably downcast for many Kavanaugh opponents.

“It’s a terrible day for the future of this country,” said protester Lisa Fithian, 57. “Senator Collins just sold out our country, she sold out women, she sold out the climate, she sold out our rights.”

Protesters hugged each other in the atrium. Many were close to tears.

“Guttural screaming on the inside” is how protester Margaret Murphy, 37, described her feelings. “Ever since the election, I have learned to prepare for devastation,” Murphy said, referencing 2016. “There are actually bodies on the line that will be affected,” she said. “These decisions -- these are life and death decisions. I’m putting my body on the line to honor the people who do not have a voice, who do not have a choice.”

President Donald Trump has downplayed the anger and chances for a "Blue Wave" in next month's election. And after a group of protesters unfurled an enormous banner reading “#StopKavanaugh" at the Capitol on Friday, President Donald Trump said protesters were being paid to be there, citing as evidence signs that looked too professional.

"Their rage-fueled resistance is starting to backfire," Trump said during a political rally in Rochester, Minnesota this week, claiming that polls in several states show Republicans moving up in their efforts to keep control of Congress. Employing some of his harshest rhetoric against the opposition party, Trump said Democrats are willing "to do anything, to hurt anyone, to get the power they so desperately crave ... They want to resist, they want to obstruct, they want to delay demolish, they want to destroy."

Kavanaugh's opponents say the high stakes warrant the heated rhetoric: “They’ve got the presidency, they’ve got Congress and then they’ll have the courts,’’ said protester Alison Loerke of Bethesda, Maryland said. “This is a soft coup and it really needs to be stopped. So that’s why we’re out here….It’s really important that people understand. This is a huge issue.”

Not everyone believes the anger is helpful. Friday afternoon, six Kavanaugh supporters -- all women -- clasped arms to pray for peace. Among them was Maggie Sandroc, 62, who said she felt the process had been unfair to Kavanaugh.

“Just yesterday a group of people went by and yelled ‘this is what democracy looks like,’” she said. “I couldn’t agree more. What isn’t democracy is the hate.”

More:Brett Kavanaugh says he regrets 'sharp' tone during Senate hearing, promises to be 'impartial'

Friday morning's vote officially gave the Senate 30 hours to debate the nomination.

The 30 hours is divided equally between Republicans and Democrats, although it could take less time if either party decides not to use all of its allotted time. After that debate, the full Senate would then vote to either confirm or reject Kavanaugh.

In a tweet, the president said that George Soros "and others" were funding the protests.

"The very rude elevator screamers are paid professionals only looking to make Senators look bad. Don’t fall for it! Also, look at all of the professionally made identical signs. Paid for by Soros and others," Trump tweeted. "These are not signs made in the basement from love! #Troublemakers."

Contributing: Eliza Collins, Deborah Barry.