Democratic Sen. Heidi Heitkamp says she will vote 'no' on Kavanaugh's confirmation

Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) is a "no" on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

Heitkamp, one of the red state Democrats who is fighting to keep her seat through the midterm elections, was previously on the fence about Kavanaugh. She told a North Dakota TV station on Thursday that "the process has been bad" in evaluating Kavanaugh. "But at the end of the day," she said, "you have to make a decision and I've made that decision. I will be voting no on Judge Kavanaugh."

Kavanaugh has been accused of sexual assault, which he denies. On Thursday, senators reviewed an FBI report into the allegations; Republican leaders said the investigation found "no hint of misconduct."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

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.

Sign up

With Heitkamp joining the vast majority of the Democratic Party in opposing Kavanaugh's confirmation, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) may stand alone as the only Democrat who is leaning toward voting "yes." The fate of Kavanaugh's confirmation, expected to be decided by the end of the week, now rests in the hands of Manchin and other undecided senators like Susan Collins (R-Maine), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), and Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.).