With President Barack Obama getting to name a candidate to replace the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, the Republican National Committee (RNC) is ready to take on the White House with Florida playing an important role.
Republicans in the U.S. Senate have urged Obama not to name a candidate to replace Scalia, hoping the GOP can flip the White House in November.
The RNC is preparing to lunch a taskforce to vet whoever Obama nominates and will lead an effort to urge voters to stand against the nominee, noting that now Vice President Joe Biden had opposed naming a Supreme Court justice during a presidential year when he was in the Senate more than twenty years ago. The RNC effort will be led by Raj Shaw, its research director, as well as Deputy Communications Director Ryan Mahoney, and Rapid Response Director Michael Short.
"This will be the most comprehensive judicial response effort in our party's history,” said RNC Chairman Reince Priebus on Monday. “If the president wants to break with decades of precedent by pushing through a nominee in an election year, we’re going to vet that person and put their real record on display. We’re going to hold everyone accountable and make sure Democrats have to answer to the American people for why they don’t want voters to have a say in this process."
Sean Spicer, the RNC’s chief strategist and communications director, said the task force would be “one of our top priorities” in 2016.
Sources tell Sunshine State News that the RNC will do background research on the nominee and lead petitioning efforts against whoever it is. The RNC will also launch robocalls, radio and digital ads. The RNC’s efforts will also bleed into electoral season as sources told Sunshine State News that the RNC will target U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy, D-Fla., who is currently running for the U.S. Senate in 2016 as U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., is not seeking a second term.
Murphy’s Senate campaign has been focusing on the Supreme Court vacancy, noting that Democratic hopes of flipping the Senate could come down to the Sunshine State.
“The Supreme Court vacancy changed everything," Murphy’s team insisted last month. “Mitch McConnell, Ted Cruz and other Senate Republicans are going to try their hardest to ignore the Constitution and refuse to confirm any Supreme Court nomination from President Obama.
“If they’re successful, the Senate we elect in November will have the power to drastically impact the Supreme Court for many years to come," the Murphy campaign continued. “Important decisions on Citizens United, Planned Parenthood and voting rights already hang in the balance. It has never been more clear that Patrick needs to win to turn the Senate blue. Nothing less than the future of the Supreme Court is on the line.”
Murphy faces U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson, D-Fla., attorney and Navy veteran Pam Keith and life coach Lateresa Jones in the Democratic primary. Obama and Biden have both endorsed Murphy.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
