Conservative, liberal groups gear up for Supreme Court fight
WASHINGTON (AP) — Conservative and liberal groups are only beginning their battle over the Supreme Court vacancy, with a smattering of television ads and behind-the-scenes research serving as warning shots in what's sure to be an expensive fight that will color November's elections.
The conservative Judicial Crisis Network has run TV spots backing GOP senators in seven states and digital ads targeting Democrats in four others, while its leader wrote an article criticizing one potential nominee for a case she handled while a public defender a decade ago.
End Citizens United, dedicated to overturning the Supreme Court decision that unleashed unlimited campaign spending by corporations and unions, has aired commercials pressing Ayotte and Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., to consider a nominee.
Democrats and liberals have focused on Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, and other Republican senators seeking re-election this fall in swing states like Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
If the GOP ignores any Obama nominee, conservatives have "a really powerful incentive to go out and vote for Republicans," said Dan Holler, spokesman for Heritage Action for America, a frequent detractor of establishment Republican leaders.
Katie Beirne Fallon, Obama's former legislative affairs chief now helping coordinate liberal organizations' tactics, met privately with Democratic senators on March 3 to lay out the groups' plans, said one Democrat.