WASHINGTON — (CNN) Republican Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas is facing a backlash from two conservative groups for his call this week for the Senate to hold confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland.
One of the groups said it would launch an ad campaign targeting Moran while the other threatened to support a challenger from the right against the first-term senator in the Republican primary later this year.
Moran’s position is at odds with Senate GOP leaders and most rank-and-file Senate Republicans who believe a new president should nominate a replacement for Justice Antonin Scalia, a hero of the right who died suddenly earlier this year.
Only two other Republicans, Susan Collins of Maine and Mark Kirk of Illinois, both moderates, are calling for hearings.
“Grassroots activists in Kansas and across the country are furious that Senator Jerry Moran has decided to join President Obama in denying them a voice in the next Supreme Court Justice with their votes in November,” Jenny Beth Martin, a tea party activist, said in a statement. “It’s this kind of outrageous behavior that leads Tea Party Patriots Citizens Fund activists and supporters to think seriously about encouraging Dr. Milton Wolf to run against Sen. Moran in the August GOP primary.”
Wolf gave a scare to Kansas Republican Sen. Pat Roberts two years ago when he challenged the longtime senator in a primary, but Wolf ended up losing by seven points.
Another group fighting against Garland’s confirmation, the Judicial Crisis Network, said it was preparing ads against Moran, according to the Topeka Capital Journal.
“We are in the process of putting the finishing touches on a robust, multi-faceted TV, digital, and grassroots campaign designed to remind Senator Moran that he represents the people of Kansas and neither President Obama nor the Democratic Party,” Carrie Severino, the group’s chief counsel was quoted as saying by the paper.
The twin challenge could cause a headache for Moran, who was elected with 70% of the vote six years ago.
The fury started when Moran told a town hall gathering Wednesday, “I would rather have you (his constituents) complaining to me that I voted wrong on nominating somebody than saying I’m not doing my job,” according to a report in the Garden City Telegram.
A message left with Moran’s Senate office on Friday was not immediately returned.
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