Democrats Must Confirm to Win Control in November [OPINION]

The Democrats in the Senate are in a difficult situation with the appointment of Judge Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court and the upcoming midterm elections.

The Democrats must take control of the Senate in the November elections if they hope to halt future judicial appointments by President Trump. However, they must confirm Trump's latest appointment to the Supreme Court to have any chance of winning a majority in the Senate.

The current Senate has 51 Republicans, 47 Democrats, and two Independents who caucus with the Democrats--so the division is, in reality, 51-49. There are 35 Senate seats up in the 2018 election, and 26 are held by Democrats.

The Democrats need to hold all 26 seats, and add two more senators to their caucus, to control the upper chamber in 2019. It is always difficult for a political party to retain 100 percent of its incumbents and add additional members, too. But this year is particularly difficult for Democrats, given the electoral map.

Five of the incumbent Democrats are in states that Donald Trump carried by 18 points or more in 2016. The states of Indiana, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota and West Virginia are all currently favorable to the GOP and President Trump, and the Democrat senators have serious Republican challengers.

Democrats have acknowledged their difficulty in turning out their electoral base in midterm elections. The GOP has an average three percent advantage in the midterms. Furthermore, all Republicans understand the importance of judicial appointments, and even those in the party who despise Trump are motivated to support his court picks. The GOP base is focused on the federal courts, while the Democratic base doesn't even know there is an election in November.

Abusing Judge Kavanaugh in the hearings and voting against him is likely to anger voters in the states that supported Donald Trump. Those Democratic senators in states that supported Trump will be the losers at the ballot box if Kavanaugh and his family are verbally roughed up by the hardcore left wing of the Democratic Party.

The Democrats need to tone down their rhetoric and allow their endangered senators to vote for Kavanaugh, so they can live to fight another six years.

Chris McCarthy is the host of The Chris McCarthy Show on 1420 WBSM New Bedford. He can be heard weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon. Contact him at chris.mccarthy@townsquaremedia.com and follow him on Twitter @Chris_topher_Mc. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.