Many of Georgia’s top Republican state officials have placed themselves firmly behind federal judge Brett Kavanaugh as the Supreme Court pick faces a tense, week-long grilling before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Georgia U.S. Sens. Johnny Isakson and David Perdue have already publicly committed to voting in favor of Kavanaugh's confirmation, but that hasn't stopped the state's top elected officials from also weighing in on Kavanaugh's behalf.
Secretary of State and Republican gubernatorial nominee Brian Kemp wrote to Judiciary Committee leaders earlier this week praising Kavanaugh’s “clear understanding of the proper role of a judge.”
"Throughout his career, Judge Kavanaugh has built consensus, decided cases based on fact and law with no regard for his personal preferences, and shown enduring respect for the text, structure, and authority of our Constitution," Kemp wrote.
His letter came days after more than two-dozen Republican state senators penned their own letter praising Kavanaugh as "uniquely qualified" to "interpret the law as it is written."
Gov. Nathan Deal and Attorney General Chris Carr also signed onto letters to Senate leaders praising President Trump's second pick for the high court.
Meanwhile, top Democrats in the state have warned about what Kavanaugh’s appointment could mean for the ideological balance of the court.
“Georgians should be deeply troubled by Judge Kavanaugh's track record, which demonstrates he is out of touch with the majority of Americans who support access to birth control and preserving Roe v. Wade,” said Democratic gubernatorial nominee Stacey Abrams, referring to the landmark 1973 case that legalized abortion. “So many of our hard-fought victories and values are now at stake.”
Partisan tensions remained high during the third day of Kavanaugh’s testimony before the Judiciary Committee as a steady stream of protesters interrupted proceedings and confidential emails from Kavanaugh leaked to the New York Times. Democrats groused about receiving thousands of documents from Kavanaugh’s time in the George W. Bush administration at the eleventh hour, while Republicans accused Democrats of turning the hearing into a political spectacle.
Senate Republicans are expected to have enough votes to confirm Kavanaugh, possibly before the October start of the Supreme Court’s new term.
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