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Mitch McConnell and his Republican Caucus are enthusiastic about the prospect of filling a Supreme Court vacancy before the midterm elections. But they don’t deny the enormity of the task at hand. (Everett and Schor, 7/9)

Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) and Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.) were under intense scrutiny even before Trump tapped Kavanaugh, a veteran appeals court judge. But they quickly began feeling the pinch as more than a half-dozen prominent liberals in the caucus joined Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) in opposing Kavanaugh as a hard-line conservative minutes after the nomination was rolled out — even as the White House and Senate Republicans began trumpeting the nominee as a “mainstream” pick. (Schor, 7/9)

With Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) away from Capitol Hill as he undergoes treatment for brain cancer, Kavanaugh’s fortunes could hinge on a single vote. Here are two groups of senators who will play a pivotal role in the confirmation process, along with their reactions to Monday night’s news. (Sonmez, 7/9)

Antiabortion activists plan to descend upon the home-state offices of three key Democratic senators on Tuesday. Liberals hope to take over Twitter with the #SaveSCOTUS hashtag while holding dozens of events across the country. And groups on both sides have prepared multimillion-dollar digital and television ad campaigns set to start Monday night. Even before President Trump’s announcement that Brett M. Kavanaugh will be his Supreme Court nominee to replace Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, the battle plans were in place and the arguments had been framed. What happens next is a no-holds-barred fight for public opinion and Senate votes, which history suggests the president is heavily favored to win. (Scherer, 7/9)

The stakes are enormous and advocacy groups that don’t have to disclose who is funding them are spending heavily to shape the fight. A look at what to expect. (Freking, 7/9)

Even before Justice Anthony M. Kennedy announced his retirement, Judicial Crisis Network, a conservative advocacy group, had reserved more than two dozen internet domain names — one for each candidate on President Trump’s list of potential Supreme Court nominees. The idea, said Carrie Severino, the group’s chief counsel, was to create a website template: “ConfirmBlank.com.” Now, President Trump has filled in the blank with the name of Brett M. Kavanaugh. ConfirmKavanaugh.com is live, and Judicial Crisis Network is already running advertisements. (Stolberg and Martin, 7/10)

Among the biggest targets will be two Republican senators who back abortion rights: Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine. Though neither faces re-election this fall, liberal groups are expected to flood their states with ads urging them to press Judge Kavanaugh, of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, about any possibility of challenging the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that guarantees the right to abortion. (Bykowicz, 7/9)

Unlike Gorsuch, who replaced Antonin Scalia, an already conservative member, Trump’s replacement for retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy, viewed by many as the court’s swing vote, could significantly reshape the balance of the court. (Levine, 7/9)