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The Federal Tap: U.S. Senate confirms Amy Coney Barrett to Supreme Court
From Ballotpedia
October 31, 2020Issue No. 228
THE WEEK IN REVIEW
Monday, October 26
U.S. Senate confirms Amy Coney Barrett to Supreme Court
- The U.S. Senate voted 52-48 to confirm Judge Amy Coney Barrett to a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court. The vote was mostly along party lines, with Sen. Susan Collins of Maine as the only Republican to vote with Democrats against Barrett’s confirmation. Justice Clarence Thomas swore Barrett in shortly after the Senate vote.
- President Trump nominated Barrett to the Supreme Court on Sept. 29. The vacancy was opened by the death of Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Sept. 18 at the age of 87.
- President Trump appointed Barrett to the United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit in 2017. Barrett previously clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonin Scalia and Judge Laurence Silberman of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. She then practiced law at Miller, Cassidy, Larroca & Lewin in Washington, D.C. from 1999 to 2002.
Friday, October 30
- On Oct. 30, Georgia Congressman Drew Ferguson (R) announced he had tested positive for COVID-19. Gov. Brian Kemp (R) said he is self-quarantining for precautionary reasons after being with Ferguson at two recent events.
- Ferguson is running for re-election and is on the ballot in the general election on November 3.
Trump on the campaign trail
- On Monday, Trump held three rallies in Pennsylvania.
- On Tuesday, Trump campaigned in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Nebraska.
- On Wednesday, Trump held two rallies in Arizona.
- On Thursday, Trump held a rally in Tampa.
- On Friday, Trump is campaigning in Minnesota, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
Biden on the campaign trail
- On Monday, Biden visited Pennsylvania.
- On Tuesday, Biden campaigned in Atlanta and Warm Springs, Georgia.
- On Thursday, Biden held rallies in Broward County and Tampa.
- On Friday, Biden is campaigning in Iowa, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.
Congress is not in session
Congress is not in session next week. Click here to see the full calendar for the second session of the 116th Congress.
SCOTUS is in session
The Supreme Court will hear five hours of oral arguments this week. To learn about the 2020-2021 term, click here.
WHAT'S ON TAP NEXT WEEK
Monday, November 2
U.S. Supreme Court to begin November sitting
- On Nov. 2, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) will begin its November sitting. All arguments during its November and December sittings will be conducted via teleconference with live audio. The court made the decision to hold proceedings this way in accordance with public health guidance in response to COVID-19.
- As of Oct. 29, SCOTUS had agreed to hear 41 cases during its 2020-2021 term. Of those, 12 were originally scheduled for the 2019-2020 term but were delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
- The court will hear arguments in five cases this week. Each of the following cases will be allotted one hour for oral argument:
Tuesday, November 3
Nation’s voters to elect president
- Americans will elect the next president of the United States on Tuesday. The following four candidates have qualified to appear on enough state ballots to win a majority—at least 270 electoral votes—in the Electoral College:
- Donald Trump (R) and Mike Pence (R)
- Joe Biden (D) and Kamala Harris (D)
- Howie Hawkins (G) and Angela Nicole Walker (G)
- Jo Jorgensen (L) and Spike Cohen (L)
- Using the average of race ratings from the Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, and Sabato's Crystal Ball, Ballotpedia has identified 12 battleground states. These are the states on which an electoral victory will hinge: Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wisconsin.
- Sixteen U.S. presidents—approximately one-third—have won two consecutive elections. George H.W. Bush (R) was the last president to lose his re-election campaign in 1992.
Voters to decide 35 U.S. Senate seats
- Thirty-five of the 100 seats in the U.S. Senate are up for election Tuesday, including 33 regularly scheduled elections and two special elections.
- The elections will determine control of the chamber during the 117th Congress. Republicans currently hold a 53-seat majority, with Democrats controlling 45 seats and two seats held by independents who caucus with the Democratic Party.
- If Republicans gain seats or lose fewer than two seats, they will retain control of the chamber. If Democrats gain four or more seats, they will gain control of the chamber. If Democrats gain exactly three seats, control of the chamber will be split 50-50, with the vice president having the tie-breaking vote.
- Republicans are defending 23 seats while Democrats are defending 12, meaning the GOP has greater partisan risk this year. This situation was reversed in 2018, when Democrats defended 26 seats (including two held by independents) to Republicans’ nine.
- Both parties are defending two seats in states where the other party’s presidential candidate won in 2016. Democrats are defending seats in Alabama and Michigan, while Republicans are defending seats in Colorado and Maine.
- Ballotpedia identified 16 seats as battlegrounds, including 12 held by Republicans and four held by Democrats. Here are five races we’re watching:
- Georgia (regular): Two U.S. Senate elections are taking place in Georgia this year. The regularly scheduled election features incumbent David Perdue (R) and challengers Jon Ossoff (D) and Shane Hazel (L). Georgia law requires candidates to win at least 50% of the vote; if no candidate reaches this threshold, the top two finishers will advance to a runoff on Jan. 5, 2021.
- Georgia (special): Incumbent Kelly Loeffler (R) faces 20 challengers as she seeks election to the remaining two years of Johnny Isakson’s (R) unexpired term. Under Georgia law, there are no primaries for special elections to Congress, allowing all candidates to advance directly to the general election. Loeffler’s top-polling challengers are Doug Collins (R), Matt Lieberman (D), and Raphael Warnock (D). As in the regularly-scheduled election, a Jan. 5 runoff will be held between the top two finishers if no candidate wins 50% of the vote.
- Iowa: Incumbent Joni Ernst (R) faces challengers Theresa Greenfield (D), Rick Stewart (L), and Suzanne Herzog (I). Iowa has 31 Pivot Counties, which voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and Donald Trump (R) in 2016, more than any other state. Ernst was first elected in 2014, becoming the first Republican to hold the seat since 1978.
- Maine: Incumbent Susan Collins (R) faces six challengers, including Sara Gideon (D). Collins was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1996 and won re-election with larger margins in each subsequent term. In 2014, she defeated challenger Shenna Bellows (D) 67% to 31%. This election will use ranked-choice voting, a system in which voters rank candidates in the order of their preference rather than voting for a single candidate.
- North Carolina: Incumbent Thom Tillis (R) faces challengers Cal Cunningham (D), Kevin Hayes (Constitution Party), and Shannon Bray (L). Partisan control of this seat changed both of the last two times it was up. North Carolina split its votes for top-ballot offices in 2016, electing Donald Trump (R) over Hillary Clinton (D) 50% to 46% and Roy Cooper (D) over incumbent Gov. Pat McCrory (R) 49.0% to 48.8%.
All 435 U.S. House seats are up for election
- All 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives are up for election Tuesday.
- The elections will determine control of the chamber in the 117th Congress. Democrats currently hold a 232-seat majority. Republicans control 197 seats, a Libertarian holds one seat, and five seats are vacant.
- If Republicans gain a net 21 or more seats, they will win control of the chamber. If Republicans gain 20 seats or fewer, or if Democrats gain seats, Democrats will retain control of the chamber.
- Democrats are defending 30 seats in districts Donald Trump (R) carried in 2016, while Republicans are defending five seats in districts Hillary Clinton (D) carried that year.
- Fifty-six U.S. House elections taking place this year are rematch elections featuring the same Republican and Democratic nominees as in 2018.
- Ballotpedia identified 41 seats as battlegrounds, including 20 each held by Democrats and Republicans and one held by a Libertarian. Here are five races we’re watching:
- California’s 25th Congressional District: Incumbent Mike Garcia (R) faces challenger Christy Smith (D) for this Los Angeles-area seat. Katie Hill (D) flipped this seat in 2018 before resigning in 2019 amid allegations of an extramarital affair. Garcia defeated Smith in the May 2020 special election for the seat, becoming the first Republican to flip a U.S. House seat in California since 1998.
- Georgia’s 7th Congressional District: Carolyn Bourdeaux (D) and Rich McCormick (R) are running for this Atlanta-area seat. Incumbent Rob Woodall (R), first elected in 2010, is retiring this year. Bourdeaux ran against Woodall for the seat in 2018. His 433-vote margin of victory was the narrowest in any U.S. House election that year.
- Minnesota’s 7th Congressional District: Incumbent Collin Peterson (D) faces challengers Michelle Fischbach (R) and Slater Johnson (Legal Marijuana Now Party). Peterson, who was first elected in 1990, was one of two Democrats to vote against both articles of impeachment targeting President Trump. The other, Jeff Van Drew, joined the Republican Party after his vote. In 2016, Trump defeated Hillary Clinton 62% to 31% in this district, more than twice his next-highest margin of victory in a Democratic-held U.S. House district this year.
- New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District: Incumbent Xochitl Torres Small (D) faces challengers Yvette Herrell (R) and Steve Jones (I) for this southern New Mexico U.S. House seat. This is one of 56 rematch U.S. House elections in 2020; Torres Small and Herrell were their parties’ nominees for the then-open seat in 2018. That year, Torres Small defeated Herrell 51% to 49%.
- Utah’s 4th Congressional District: Incumbent Ben McAdams (D) faces challengers Burgess Owens (R) and John Molnar (L) in this Salt Lake City-area district. McAdams defeated incumbent Mia Love (R) in 2018 by a 694-vote margin, the narrowest among any U.S. House race resulting in a flipped seat that year.
Where was the president last week?
- On Monday, Trump held Make America Great Again Victory rallies in Pennsylvania and participated in Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s swearing-in ceremony in Washington, D.C.
- On Tuesday, Trump held Make America Great Again Victory rallies in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Nebraska.
- On Wednesday, Trump announced endorsements in Las Vegas, Nevada, and held Make America Great Again Victory rallies in Arizona.
- On Thursday, Trump held a Make America Great Again Victory Rally in Tampa, Florida, and participated in a troop engagement at Fort Bragg in North Carolina.
- On Friday, Trump held Make America Great Again Victory rallies in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. He also made remarks at a Make America Great Again Peaceful Protest in Rochester, Minnesota.
Federal Judiciary
- 66 federal judicial vacancies
- 41 pending nominations
- 2 future federal judicial vacancies
About
The Tap covered election news, public policy, and other noteworthy events from February 2016 to February 2022.
