The progressive group Demand Justice Initiative is targeting GOP Sen. Susan Collins (Maine), who is up for reelection in 2020, with a new round of advertising ahead of a Senate vote this week on a controversial judicial nominee from President Trump.
The group said it is launching a five-figure digital ad that will run on “prominent Maine websites,” questioning why Collins would support Wendy Vitter’s nomination to be a judge for the Eastern District of Louisiana.
{mosads}”Trump nominee Wendy Vitter wants to shut down Planned Parenthood. So why would Senator Susan Collins vote for her?” the ad says.
The ad is part of a larger effort by Demand Justice to educate voters on senators’ positions when it comes to Trump’s judicial picks, most of whom are considered anathema to the party’s progressive base.
The Senate is expected to vote on Vitter’s nomination on Thursday.
Vitter, who serves as general counsel to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans and is the wife of former Sen. David Vitter (R-La.), has come under fire for sidestepping a direct answer to a question during her confirmation hearing about whether she believes the Brown v. Board of Education case from the 1950s was correctly decided by the Supreme Court. She also was grilled on her views on abortion.
A spokeswoman for Collins didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment about whether the GOP senator has decided how to vote on Vitter’s nomination.
Brian Fallon, the executive director for Demand Justice, noted that the vote on Vitter’s nomination will come just days after the Alabama Senate passed legislation that bans nearly all abortions in the state. The measure has since been sent to Gov. Kay Ivey’s (R) desk and is expected to be signed into law.
“The recent laws passed in Georgia and Alabama prove there is an all-out assault on abortion rights underway in this country, and Senator Collins needs to choose a side,” Fallon said.
He added that “when Senator Collins supports so many of Trump’s anti-abortion judges, it is reasonable for Mainers to conclude she’s not living up to her promises about protecting reproductive rights.”
Collins, who is one of two GOP senators running in a state that Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton won in 2016, is viewed as a top target for Democrats next year. She has already drawn fierce criticism over her vote in support of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh last year amid concerns that his confirmation would lock in a conservative majority on the court.