Political pundits wasted little time prognosticating the effects that Supreme Court Justice Anthony Scalia’s death will have on presidential politics, and it most certainly will be a pivotal issue.
Not to mention that the court is now split between four judges who were nominated by four Democrats, and four by Republicans — it’s going to be an interesting year.
But the truth of the matter is that Scalia’s death will also shape the outcome of Colorado’s Senate race.
The Senate is controlled by Republicans who will likely stall the final confirmation vote until after the election, and the GOP will be massacred by the national media for their actions.
Not only will Democrats be screaming to put a Democrat in the White House, but the money will start pouring in to take control of the Senate from Republicans.
U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet is consistently listed as the most vulnerable Democrat running for reelection, and while party officials might have written the Colorado senator off as a lost cause last week, now they have every incentive to throw as much money at his race as possible in order to take back the Senate.
Judging from this post by BuzzFeed on Saturday night’s presidential fundraiser in Denver, Bennet’s talking points have already been written for him to stand fast with the Democratic Party and campaign on President Obama’s struggle to get a controversial nomination through the Senate.
Well before either Clinton or Sanders spoke, Sen. Michael Bennet kicked the event off by leading the large crowd of Democrats in a moment of silence for Scalia’s family.
Once that was done, he tore into the Republican field in a stemwinder of a speech that set the tone for the evening ahead.
Buzzfeed didn’t bother with giving us any quotes from this stemwinder of a speech Bennet supposedly delivered, because it’s Buzzfeed.
The Denver Post neglected to mention it either, so Bennet’s talking points must have been really weak.
The make-up of the Supreme Court is an issue that has always reverberated through the Republican Party, so we expect Colorado Senate candidates to be very vocal about their thoughts on Obama’s eventual nominee.
What will be interesting to see, is if Bennet backs his party and campaign contributors, or tries to hide from the issue that will likely define his race.