Ads Thank GOP Senators For Standing Firm On SCOTUS Pick

Conservatives are rallying to defend GOP senators who have threatened to block President Obama’s Supreme Court pick, announcing a seven-figure advertising campaign Thursday to publicly thank vulnerable Republicans up for election in November who have stuck with party leaders on the issue.

The “Let the People Decide” campaign from the Judicial Crisis Network will run ads defending Sens. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, John McCain of Arizona, Rob Portman of Ohio and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania — each of whom is up for re-election this year.

The ads will also defend Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who said the Senate would refuse to accept an Obama nominee to replace Justice Antonin Scalia, who died over the weekend.

“This isn’t about Republicans or Democrats. It’s about your voice,” a narrator says in one ad. “You choose the next president. The next president chooses the next justice.”

“We want to thank the U.S. Senators who say that the American people should decide who picks the next Supreme Court justice,” said Carrie Severino, chief counsel and policy director for JCN. “The American people are fed up with Washington politicians, and the selection of the next justice is simply too important to leave to politics as usual.

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