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Pence says election will determine direction of the Supreme Court of the United States
By Marc Kovac
COLUMBUS
New polling shows the two major-party presidential candidates are neck and neck in Ohio.
Of the 624 likely voters in the state questioned in the days after the last presidential debate, 45 percent sided with Democrat Hillary Clinton and 45 percent sided with Donald Trump, the Republican standard-bearer.
The results, released Monday afternoon, had a margin of error of close to 4 percentage points.
Trump led in the state, 47 percent-42 percent, in Quinnipiac’s polling earlier in the month.
Clinton also was ahead in Pennsylvania, Florida and Colorado in Monday’s poll.
“Secretary Clinton has held or increased her lead following the second debate,” Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll, said in a statement. “Obviously the allegations by a number of women about Donald Trump’s behavior have taken a toll among some of those who had been in his column.”
He added, “Of particular importance are the Clinton leads in Florida and Pennsylvania. Trump probably can’t win if he loses one of them, and he’s toast if he loses both. In addition, Trump’s lead in Ohio, his best big swing state, is now gone. Trump’s best hope is a knockout win in the last debate Wednesday evening, his last shot at a national audience.”
Meanwhile, Mike Pence, the Republican vice-presidential candidate, was on the stump Monday in Columbus.
“We’re electing the president for a four-year term, but that president will very likely ... set the course and direction of the Supreme Court of the United States for the next 40 years,” Pence said.
And that means big implications, Pence said, for gun rights, abortion and other issues, depending on whether voters back Trump or Clinton.
“The balance of the court is on the ballot,” he said. “And so I want to submit to you, for the sake of the rule of law, for the sake of the sanctity of life, for the sake of that Second Amendment and all of the God-given liberties enshrined in our founding documents, we must decide here and now that the next president making appointments to the Supreme Court of the United States will be President Donald Trump.”
The Supreme Court remains atop conservative voters’ minds as they head toward next month’s general election.
Pence offered his comments during a stop in Ohio’s capital city, with about 300 supporters attending an afternoon convention center gathering.
Both campaigns continue to focus efforts in Ohio and other swing states. Clinton’s running mate, Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, has scheduled stops in the state for Wednesday.
Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, during a stop in suburban Columbus earlier in the day, slammed Trump’s comments about women.
“All of us in some form or another have experienced something that is unpleasant as women,” Albright said. “But, we thought it was going away. And, in fact, it has gotten worse as a result of [Trump’s] really outrageous behavior. ... We need to have [Pence] and Trump understand what they are doing to future generations and how girls and women think about ourselves. This is a truly serious time.”