Fox News contributor Karl Rove warned Republicans that their handling of the sexual assault allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh could benefit Democrats in November’s midterms elections.

“This thing has become a Democrat cause célèbre,” Rove said on Fox News Thursday. “It helps them with the electorate, it keeps the focus on something they want. And if they succeed in delaying it, so much the better, but even if they don’t, they occupy valuable space in the weeks leading to the midterm election.”

Rove, the former chief of staff for President George W. Bush, worked with Kavanaugh when the nominee served as a staff secretary in the Bush administration.

ADVERTISEMENT

He called Christine Blasey Ford an “emotional and credible witness” Thursday, following her testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Ford appearing before the Senate panel, detailed for the first time, publicly, her allegations that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her at a house party when the two were in high school in the 1980s.

Kavanaugh vehemently denied the allegations in his subsequent testimony before the committee.

Beltway insiders are playing much closer attention to the developments surrounding Kavanaugh's testimony and nomination than the rest of the public, Rove said.

“The American people are going to perceive this in one, two three or four snippets if you will — a couple from Dr. Ford and a couple from Judge Kavanaugh,” Rove said. “And the question is how do they evaluate those?”

Fox News host Chris Wallace called Ford’s testimony a “disaster for the Republicans” on Thursday.

He also echoed Rove’s stance on Ford, calling her appearance “emotional, extremely raw and extremely credible.”

“Nobody could listen to her deliver those words and talk about the assault and the impact it had had on her life and not have your heart go out to her,” the "Fox News Sunday" host continued. “She obviously was traumatized by an event.”

“This is a disaster for the Republicans,” Wallace added.

The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold its first vote on Kavanaugh's nomination Friday afternoon.