Kavanaugh allegation poses political risks for Dems and GOP

NEW YORK (AP) — Emboldened Democrats and cautious Republicans are grappling with an increasingly messy nomination fight weeks before midterm voting begins.

The election-year implications are far from certain. But with control of Congress at stake this fall, there were tremendous political risks for both sides.

Republicans risk further alienating female voters by embracing President Donald Trump’s hand-picked Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, even after an allegation surfaced over the weekend of decades-old sexual misconduct when he was a teenager.

Democrats seized on the allegations to delay the high-stakes nomination and risk energizing complacent Republican voters across the nation should they be viewed as playing politics with the sensitive allegations.

Kavanaugh has called the allegation “completely false.” His accuser has offered to testify publicly on Capitol Hill.