Midterm Vote Is a Referendum on Democrats' Court-Packing Plan and the Supreme Court's Legitimacy
Source: Shawn Fleetwood. "Vote Like Dems' Court-Packing Gambit Is On The Ballot." October 16, 2026. thefederalist.com
The Gist
The author says Kamala Harris openly admitted Democrats want to add justices to the Supreme Court if they win Congress, and he believes this is a power grab to get liberal rulings. He argues the current Court is just following the Constitution, so this midterm election is really a choice about whether the Court stays legitimate.
Conclusion
Voters in the 2026 midterms are effectively deciding whether America will keep a legitimate Supreme Court, because a Democratic return to power in Congress would put them in position to pack the Court with left-wing activists.
Premises
- Kamala Harris openly said that Democrats should expand the Supreme Court if they win back the House and Senate, and she tied the proposal to getting a Court that matches her view of the Constitution rather than to one justice per circuit.
- The Court's proper role is to apply the Constitution and laws according to their original meaning, and the current conservative majority generally does this, especially after the Kavanaugh and Barrett appointments.
- Democrats want additional justices so they can create a left-wing majority that enacts preferred policies through activist rulings instead of the legislative process.
- Democrats' hostility to decisions such as overturning Roe and striking down race-based redistricting shows they object to outcomes, not to a failure to follow the Constitution.
- Even Democrats who dodge the question, such as Jeffries and Ossoff, belong to a party whose strategy is clear, and winning both chambers in 2026 would position them for trifecta control in 2028, giving them the power to pack the Court.
Assumptions
- Harris's statements reflect the actual intentions of the Democratic Party as a whole and its congressional candidates.
- The current conservative majority's rulings are in fact faithful to original meaning, and originalism is the correct standard of legitimacy.
- Expanding the Court's size is inherently illegitimate and would not be a legitimate use of Congress's constitutional power over the Court's size.
- Democrats will win the presidency in 2028 and will be willing and able to eliminate the filibuster or otherwise pass a court-expansion bill.
- Democrats' motive is solely power-seeking rather than a sincere belief that the current Court is wrongly decided.
- A Court with more left-leaning justices would necessarily be illegitimate while the current Court is legitimate.