Brian Brown of the National Organization for Marriage claimed credit for the defeats of Democratic Senators Heidi Heitkamp, Joe Donnelly, and Claire McCaskill, whom NOM “targeted” due to their votes against the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Brown has high hopes that the appointment of additional right-wing Supreme Court justices will lead the court to overturn its 2015 marriage equality ruling.
NOM’s email noted that the group had also targeted John Tester and said his race was still up in the air, but in fact the race was called for Tester shortly before Brown’s email arrived.
Whether we end up defeating three incumbents or all four that we targeted, it’s very clear that we have significantly strengthened our position in the Senate, which was our sole focus. We’ve increased our ability to confirm strong constitutionalist judges to the federal courts. If a vacancy occurs on the Supreme Court, we’ll be in a much stronger position than previously to confirm another pro-marriage, pro-constitution nominee. And, as the inevitable changes occur with appointed positions in the administration, President Trump will be better able to strengthen his Cabinet and senior staff through the confirmation of officials in the mold of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. NOM fought hard for Pompeo’s confirmation because of his principled commitment to marriage, and a future fight on similar nominees that should be easier.
Brown asked for contributions to prepare for upcoming battles, warning that he expects House Democrats to use their new majority to “aggressively advocate for extreme policies on gender identity and religious liberty.”
