The Senate vote on cloture on the controversial nomination of Harvard law professor David Barron to the First Circuit (a nomination Carrie Severino has written extensively about) passed today by a narrow 52-43 vote. (Under the old cloture rules, cloture would have failed.)
I’m reliably informed that Senator Manchin (West Virginia) and Senator Landrieu (running for her political life in Louisiana) voted against cloture. Senators not voting were four conservative Republicans and one Democrat, so four additional Democrats would need to vote against confirmation to defeat the nomination.)
The vote on confirmation is scheduled for tomorrow. I’m told that, if Barron’s nomination is to be defeated, these Senate Democrats are the most promising candidates to provide the critical votes against him: Begich (Alaska), Walsh (Montana), Pryor (Arkansas), Hagan (North Carolina) Udall (Colorado), McKaskill (Missouri), and Heitkamp (North Dakota). So now is the time to weigh in with them.