Lisa Murkowski says she won't vote on a justice to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg before the election: 'Fair is fair'

 Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death was barely announced before speculation began to run rampant on the internet about whether Republicans will attempt to confirm a nominee to replace her prior to the 2020 election. 

The speculation is perhaps understandable. Most polls show President Donald Trump trailing Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden in the general election, and a number of Republican senators in swing states are also trailing their Democratic opponents, meaning that Democrats believe that waiting until after the election will substantially increase the chances that a justice more to their liking will end up taking Ginsburg's place on the Supreme Court.

Republicans currently control 53 seats in the United States Senate, so they theoretically could force a nominee through before the election. In light of all this, some senators who are considered likely swing votes have already been approached by the media and asked if they plan to allow a vote on a replacement for Ginsburg.

One Republican senator, Alaska's Lisa Murkowski, has already indicated that she will not support such a vote.

Murkowski's remark that "fair is fair" is presumably a reference to the fact that Republican senators did not allow a hearing for former President Barack Obama's nominee Merrick Garland in 2016 during an election year.

Murkowski's position does not come as a surprise. Murkowski was asked about the possibility in August, back when it was merely a hypothetical, and she said then that she would not support such an attempt.

Maine Senator Susan Collins (R) also indicated some weeks ago that she would not support seating a replacement justice in October.

If both ssenators hold true to their positions, and no Democrats defect, that would mean that even two more Republican defections would doom any attempt to confirm a replacement for Ginsburg on the Supreme Court before the election.