If Sen. Susan Collins votes to confirm Kavanaugh, activists are ready to give $1 million to her 2020 opponent
Should Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) vote to confirm Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, her yet-to-be-determined Democratic opponent in 2020 will receive at least $1 million from angry donors.
Using the platform Crowdpac, the Maine People's Alliance, Mainers for Accountable Leadership, and activist Ady Barkan launched a crowdfunding campaign that has already raised $1 million, but with a catch. If Collins votes to confirm Kavanaugh, all that money will be sent to the TBD Democrat running against her. If she votes no, the money will not be collected.
All eyes are on Collins, as well as her fellow moderate Republican, Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. Collins has said she wants to ensure Roe v. Wade is not overturned, but also voted for Kavanaugh already, when he was nominated in 2006 to the U.S. Court of Appeals. In a statement, Annie Clark, a spokeswoman for Collins, said "anybody who thinks these tactics would work on Sen. Collins obviously doesn't know her. Sen. Collins will make up her mind based on the merits of the nomination. Threats or other attempts to bully her will not play a factor in her decision-making whatsoever."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Adav Noti of the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center told The Washington Post on Tuesday that this campaign could violate federal bribery laws. "I think they're playing a game to avoid the literal application of the bribery statute," Noti said. Jordan Libowitz, spokesman for the group Citizens for Ethics and Responsibilities, disagrees, telling the Post: "It seems kind of icky but it doesn't rise to the level of bribery because there's no agreement. It's just the way money and politics tend to work these days."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
5 hilariously spirited cartoons about the spirit of Christmas
Cartoons Artists take on excuses, pardons, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Inside the house of Assad
The Explainer Bashar al-Assad and his father, Hafez, ruled Syria for more than half a century but how did one family achieve and maintain power?
By The Week UK Published
-
Sudoku medium: December 22, 2024
The Week's daily medium sudoku puzzle
By The Week Staff Published
-
Putin says Russia isn't weakened by Syria setback
Speed Read Russia had been one of the key backers of Syria's ousted Assad regime
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Georgia DA Fani Willis removed from Trump case
Speed Read Willis had been prosecuting the election interference case against the president-elect
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Democrats blame 'President Musk' for looming shutdown
Speed Read The House of Representatives rejected a spending package that would've funding the government into 2025
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump, Musk sink spending bill, teeing up shutdown
Speed Read House Republicans abandoned the bill at the behest of the two men
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Congress reaches spending deal to avert shutdown
Speed Read The bill would fund the government through March 14, 2025
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Luigi Mangione charged with murder, terrorism
Speed Read Magnione is accused of murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Ex-FBI informant pleads guilty to lying about Bidens
Speed Read Alexander Smirnov claimed that President Joe Biden and his son Hunter were involved in a bribery scheme with Ukrainian energy company Burisma
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
South Korea impeaches president, eyes charges
Speed Read Yoon Suk Yeol faces investigations on potential insurrection and abuse of power charges
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published