Three Democratic senators sure to face tremendous pressure over whether to back President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee have been invited to Monday's White House announcement of the pick. But Indiana's Joe Donnelly, North Dakota's Heidi Heitkamp and West Virginia's Joe Manchin all say they won't attend.
All face tough re-election races this November in states Trump won easily in 2016.
All three states lean heavily Republican. But nearly all Senate Democrats and many Democratic voters are expected to oppose Trump's nominee. They say the person would likely take strongly conservative views on issues like abortion and health care.
The White House would love to have the Democrats' votes for confirmation. Issuing the invitations makes the lawmakers choose between humoring voters who think they should be bipartisan and others who feel they shouldn't condone Trump's pick.