U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal said Friday that President Joe Biden’s U.S. Supreme Court nominee, Ketanji Brown Jackson, is a “home run” who exemplifies the core values of the Democratic party.
“I think this nomination will generate enormous enthusiasm,” said Blumenthal, when asked if he believes Jackson’s nomination will motivate Democratic voters to turn out at the polls in November.
Blumenthal, 75, is seeking a third term in the Senate and has been a fixture in state politics for more than three decades. There is a roster of Republicans vying for the nomination to challenge him in November, including former state House Republican Leader Themis Klarides, 56.
Connecticut Republicans have not won a U.S. Senate race since Lowell P. Weicker Jr. captured the seat in 1982, and Democrats have solid majorities in every statewide office and the General Assembly. Still, Republicans are counting on dissatisfaction with Biden to win them seats in the midterm election.
Biden’s nomination of the first Black woman to the Supreme Court could energize the Democratic base, however.
“Her values for standing for voting rights, reproductive rights and the benefits to everyday Americans of having a Black woman [on the Supreme Court] reflects the diversity of America as well,” Blumenthal said.
Blumenthal, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Jackson’s nomination is “historic.”
“The first Black woman on the United States Supreme Court and someone of such immense personal accomplishment and qualification,” Blumenthal said of Jackson, a former public defender who is now a federal appeals court judge. “She’s a star. She is an example of what is best in America.”
He described her as having a “unique combination of thoughtfulness and common sense,” and said her experience as a public defender means she “understands the real world impacts of her decisions on everyday Americans.”
Blumenthal said he hopes Republicans will consider her qualifications and vote to confirm by mid-April.
“I would hope that Republicans would look at this nominee on her merits,” he said. “She has proven to be an extraordinary jurist on the court of appeals. I’m going to be reaching out to them as early as today – Republicans as well as Democrats. We’re all going to be looking at her total record.”
CNN reportsthat Jackson met with Biden earlier in the month and accepted the president’s nomination Thursday night.
Jackson, 51, graduated from Harvard University. Before she was appointed by Biden last year to the appellate court she served on the federal district court in D.C. and was a commissioner on the U.S. Sentencing Commission. Prior to that, she served as a federal public defender in Washington.
Gov. Ned Lamont said he is supportive of Biden’s nomination.
“I applaud President Biden’s choice and commend his commitment to ensuring that our nation’s highest court better reflects the nation itself,” Lamont said.