Here’s the case Biden will make: The new justice could have a deciding vote on protections for pre-existing conditions.
- Biden said in Philadelphia on Sunday: "There is so much at stake — the right to health care, clean air and water, and equal pay for equal work. The rights of voters, immigrants, women and workers."
- The Biden campaign will coordinate closely with House and Senate Democratic leaders on how to link the Supreme Court fight to Trump's coronavirus response.
- Like House Democratic challengers in suburban seats in 2018, Biden will constantly remind voters that Trump's stated goal has always been to replace the Affordable Care Act.
Don't forget: An Affordable Care Act case will be heard by the Supreme Court a week after the election. A decision is expected in June 2021.
Between the lines: Biden advisers view the court vacancy as a rare last-minute chance to get a second look from independents.
- The campaign will use the coming fight to appeal and motivate younger voters who want to protect Roe v. Wade.
- "If you want something to fire up young people who weren’t all that interested this year, this is it,” John Anzalone, a Biden pollster, told the New York Times.
The other side: Republicans see the court vacancy as a new chance to hold the Senate by juicing GOP turnout in states like North Carolina, where Sen. Thom Tillis has been trailing in public and private polls, officials tell Axios' Alayna Treene.
- Trumpworld now believes a fired-up Republican base diminishes Democrats' hopes of flipping Texas and Georgia.
- But nothing appears easier for Cory Gardner in Colorado or Susan Collins in Maine.
Republicans view the SCOTUS fight as a battle of the bases: They think they can demoralize Democrats, and depress turnout, if they quickly fill RBG's seat.
