Checkmate for Senate Repubs?

I never thought Democrats would be able to force Republicans to hold a vote on Judge Garland this year, at least not before the election. But from the beginning I suspected that their refusal to do so would likely cost them the Senate. Not that the public would or will necessarily rise up and toss out the Republicans over the Supreme Court, certainly not for Garland himself. But as I explained earlier, the refusal to do what really everyone understands is a basic job responsibility of Senators is potentially lethal politically for Republican senators in blue states who are only barely holding on in a presidential election year in any case. The key thing is that that this 'not doing your job' argument is most powerful with loosely politicized voters with minimal partisan attachments - precisely the people, the relatively few people, who are genuinely up for grabs in these kinds of elections.

But Trump's all but certain nomination adds an important new twist.