Meanwhile, Democrats are mounting an increasing campaign to force Republicans to consider a Supreme Court nomination by President Obama, following the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley has said that he will refuse to hold confirmation hearings until the next president takes office. Yet, Democrats appear to be launching a campaign to force Grassley to reconsider this position by threatening his re-election in Iowa this year. On Thursday, news spread across Washington that former Iowa Lieutenant Governor Patty Judge will challenge Grassley in the Iowa Senate race. This comes only one day after news leaked that the White House is considering nominating prominent Iowa jurist Jane Kelly, whom Grassley had publicly endorsed in 2013 during her confirmation to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.