Activists for left-leaning groups are saying that Democrats in the Senate are not opposing Neil Gorsuch's candidacy for the Supreme Court seat enough, and are warning them that they will be opposed in the next primary if they continue.
"A Democrat that votes for cloture on Gorsuch is a Democrat voting to overturn Roe," said Heidi Hess, senior campaign manager at Credo Action, referring to the Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade that established the right of women to have abortions.
"This is absolutely a fight they should be fighting and that we will hold them accountable if they don't fight it," Hess said, according to The Hill.
"If you're voting against the interests of the vast majority of Americans by voting for someone like Gorsuch for this Supreme Court position, that should be one of the many things that should open you up to primary challengers," said Neil Sroka, communications director for Democracy for America.
Eleven liberal groups led by NARAL Pro-Choice America sent a letter to Senate Democrats Monday slamming the their lack of opposition to Gorsuch.
"Democrats have failed to demonstrate a strong, unified resistance to this nominee despite the fact that he is an ultra-conservative jurist who will undermine our basic freedoms and threaten the independence of the federal judiciary. We need you to do better," the letter said.
"The people are not feeling like the attention is being paid to it that's commensurate with the magnitude of the issue," Ilyse Hogue, NARAL Pro-Choice America president, said.
"This is a do-or-die issue. It is of supreme concern to people around the country," Hogue told The Hill.
A senior Democratic aide told The Hill that Democrats are not planning on taking it easy on Gorsuch.
"The caucus is ready to give him the very, very rigorous review that he deserves. He has a very high bar to clear given the Trump administration's disdain for the rule of law," the aide said.
Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill, who is one of 10 Democrats up for reelection in 2018 in states won by Trump, said she recognizes that voters are impatient. "They think I should be voting against all of Trump's nominees, and of course, I'm judging each nominee on its own merit."
Three Democrats that are up for reelection in 2018 have expressed support for Gorsuch: West Virginia's Joe Manchin, Indiana's Joe Donnelly, and Montana's Jon Tester. Manchin noted Gorsuch's "impeccable credentials" and the unanimous vote Gorsuch received in 2006 when he was voted onto the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
The liberal groups' letter told Democrats that voters were looking to them for support.
"Americans are marching in the streets, demanding that our government stands up for our democratic ideals," the letter said, according to Politico.