The confirmation hearings for U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh were viewed by some observers as Democratic auditions for the 2020 presidential race.
Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who joined other Judiciary Committee Democrats in grilling him, was included in that speculation.
The Washington Post said her questions about presidential power and health care "resonated with party activists."
The National Review said that Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., "emerged as the winner of the Democrats' Kavanaugh primary." Klobuchar and Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., "got a leg up in the race just because of their presence," it said.
Unlike the more showy Booker, Klobuchar gave "a more subtle nod from the back of the classroom," Time reported. The New York Times distinguished her from Harris and Booker, noting that she is "less given to high drama."
The hearings also are being used to fuel political fires here.
A fundraising pitch by the Alliance for a Better Minnesota Action Fund said GOP gubernatorial candidate Jeff Johnson "would waste no time in putting Kavanaugh's disastrous rulings into practice."
State Sen. Karin Housley, GOP nominee for the U.S. Senate seat held by Democrat Tina Smith, said that Smith's opposition to Kavanaugh showed "baseless, blind opposition and partisan obstruction."
Smith used a #StopKavanaugh hashtag on Twitter.
