Mark Kelly Admits He Would Vote Against Judge Amy Coney Barrett

Democrat Senate candidate Mark Kelly admitted in a debate Tuesday night that he would vote against confirming Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Kelly, like other Democrats, has argued that the confirmation of a new justice to replace the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg should wait until after the election — the opposite of the position most Democrats held four years ago. (At the time, Republicans said the late Justice Antonin Scalia’s seat should not be filled until after the election.)

But Kelly had been somewhat guarded about whether he would, in fact, vote against Barrett. He might have a vote, even if the vote were to be held before the new Congress, because he is running against Sen. Martha McSally (R-AZ) to serve the remaining two years of the term of the late Sen. John McCain (R-AZ).

Though Republicans are promising a vote before Election Day, if there are any delays, Kelly would have to make a choice.

On Tuesday evening, during the one and only debate for the Arizona seat, Kelly said he would oppose Barrett — even though confirmation hearings, scheduled for next week, have not yet begun.

Martha McSally take Mark Kelly to task on his refusal to answer how he would vote on Judge Amy Coney Barrett.

Kelly finally caves and says he would vote AGAINST her nomination if he gets the chance. #AZsen pic.twitter.com/zcXiWLRUq6

— Joanna Rodriguez (@joannamrod) October 7, 2020

A Morning Consult poll released Wednesday showed that a plurality of registered voters wanted Barrett confirmed.

Kelly also declined to say whether he would back Democrats’ call to eliminate the filibuster for ordinary legislation, which would strip the opposition party of a traditional procedural safeguard.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). His newest e-book is The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency. His recent book, RED NOVEMBER, tells the story of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary from a conservative perspective. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.