John Kastellec,  Assistant Professor of Politics and CSDP faculty associate, outlines in The Washington Post How American voters really can influence Merrick Garland's confirmation battle (with Jeffrey Lax and Justin Phillips). "Many factors will come into play, but one important piece of the puzzle is public opinion. As our research has shown, there is a striking connection between home-state public support for a Supreme Court nominee and how senators vote.....the votes of Republican senators are driven by the opinion of their Republican constituents (controlling for ideology and other well-studied factors)."