NEW YORK (AP) ā A presidential campaign that was already tugging at the nationās most searing divides has been jolted by the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, potentially reshaping the election at a moment when some Americans were beginning to cast ballots.
On Saturday, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said she believes the winner of the Nov. 3 election should nominate Ginsburgās replacement.
That decision cast a long political shadow, prompting Pete Buttigieg, the former South Bend, Indiana, mayor who mounted a spirited bid for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, to make expansion of the Supreme Court a centerpiece of his campaign.
Some Democrats privately concede that the Supreme Court vacancy could shift attention away from the virus, which has been a central element of Bidenās campaign.
The president, seeking to build the same type of energy that surrounded his 2016 bid, released another list of potential Supreme Court nominees this month.