Red State Dem Sen. Joe Manchin Will Be A "No" On Kavanaugh

Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia (image via Twitter)

Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of deep red state West Virginia has been seen as a possible swing vote regarding the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanuagh.

Until now.

Manchin, who is in a tough race for re-election this November in a state that Donald Trump won by 42 points, has announced he will be a "no" vote on Kavanaugh.

According to reports, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has indicated he believes he has 48 firm "yes" votes. The Republicans need at least 50 (plus a tie-breaking vote from Vice President Mike Pence) to confirm Kavanaugh.

The three remaining Republicans are Sens. Susan Collins (Maine), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Jeff Flake (Arizona).

Read Joe's statement on the Kavanaugh nomination: pic.twitter.com/JvjTOKEDyF

— Senator Joe Donnelly (@SenDonnelly) September 28, 2018

Ian Millhiser of ThinkProgress reports that it appeared Manchin, Collins, Murkowski and Joe Donnelly (a previously announced "no") could be voting in a bloc. That could mean this would be very bad news for Kavanaugh.

This is potentially very big. It was reported last night that Donnelly, Manchin, Collins, and Murkowski would vote as a bloc. If they do, Kavanaugh is done. https://t.co/d7frJiymGl

— Ian Millhiser (@imillhiser) September 28, 2018