Article snippet: Senate Republicans say they saw Sen. MORE (R-Maine) from the start as the key to confirming Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court and worked together as a team to cajole her when appropriate, but also to give her space to make her own decision. In the end, the strategy paid off. And when Collins delivered a nearly 40-minute long speech on the Senate floor Friday afternoon announcing her support for Kavanaugh, it seemed as if her vote was never really in doubt. Collins is known for her independence but she also has a reputation among her Republican colleagues for being with them on big votes when she is most needed. Republicans have known for weeks that Senate Democratic Leader MORE (R-Ky.) to come up with enough votes entirely out of his own conference. That meant Kavanaugh’s nomination would come down to two Republican moderates, Collins and Sen. MORE. Every other GOP senator was expected to vote yes as soon as Trump announced Kavanaugh, a 12-year veteran of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals and a senior staffer in the George W. Bush administration, as his second Supreme Court pick in July. Republicans control 51 seats and could afford no more than one defection. GOP leaders thought if they could demonstrate they had the votes to confirm Kavanaugh on their own, it would put pressure on centrist Democrats facing tough reelections races in November to also vote yes. In the end, Sen. MORE (W.Va.) was the only Democrat to come out in support of Kavanaugh, but it was ... Link to the full article to read more