While his vote may be in the minority regarding Neil Gorsuch’s confirmation as a U.S. Supreme Court justice, U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet’s position and intent toward the process and Gorsuch himself have fueled political speculation and concerns over consequences.

Gorsuch, a Colorado native and Denver-based federal appeals court judge, was nominated by President Donald Trump to fill the seat vacated a year ago by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. Gorsuch, the son of the late Anne Gorsuch who was EPA chief under Ronald Reagan, would be the second Coloradan on the Supreme Court. Byron “Whizzer” White retired in 1993.

The Colorado Statesman was denied an interview with Bennet, a Denver Democrat, to discuss the Gorsuch nomination and his impressions as the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee plans to begin confirmation hearings on March 21. Instead, spokeswoman Laurie Cipriano issued a statement very similar to others since Gorsuch’s nomination:

“Michael is focused on learning more about the nominee’s judicial philosophy through his written opinions and upcoming hearing.” Cipriano wrote in an email. “We are confident that Judge Gorsuch will receive the fair consideration that Judge Garland was denied.”

Cipriano referred to Merrick Garland, a chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, who was nominated by President Barack Obama to fill Scalia’s seat but was refused a hearing before the November presidential election by Senate Republicans.

In contrast, Colorado’s Republican U.S. Senator, Cory Gardner, was not hesitant in supporting Gorsuch’s nomination the day Trump announced it and again the next day, after meeting with Gorsuch. Bennet also met briefly with Gorsuch. Neither Bennet nor Gardner serve on the judiciary committee.

Gardner called Gorsuch “one of our country’s brightest legal minds with significant experience as a federal judge and a private litigator.” Gardner noted Gorsuch was a Supreme Court clerk for Justices Byron White and Anthony Kennedy,  and “has learned from some of the most exceptional, disciplined, and faithful interpreters of the law. He is an ardent defender of the Constitution and he has the appropriate temperament to serve on the nation’s highest court.”

Support filibuster or face consequences?

Former Colorado Republican Party chairman and now political consultant Dick Wadhams said Bennet faces a very strong and active far left-wing of the Democratic Party who want him to support a filibuster against Gorsuch and won’t tolerate anything that benefits Trump.

“He is between a rock and a hard place, and his being out of state during the Congressional recess makes it seem he was hiding out from the left-wing of his own party,” Wadhams said.

Responding to Trump’s choice of Gorsuch, ProgressNow Colorado, the state’s largest online progressive advocacy organization, called Gorsuch “the latest in a series of horrible choices by Donald Trump.”

In his statement, Executive Director Ian Silverii included words of warning to Bennet and other Democratic senators regarding Gorsuch.

“The simple fact is that this Supreme Court appointment was stolen from President Obama last year in a shameful act of Republican treachery,” Silverii wrote. “No Democrat should in any way cooperate with or otherwise enable Gorsuch’s Supreme Court nomination, including Colorado Democrats. To do so would only hand Trump another undeserved victory.”

Meanwhile, the Judicial Crisis Network, a conservative advocacy group that has put $10 million behind a national effort to confirm Gorsuch, recently ran a TV ad criticizing Bennet’s hesitancy to back Gorsuch.

Metro State University Associate Professor of Political Science Rob Preuhs said Bennet’s decision may come down to how close Democrats are to the 40 votes needed to stage a filibuster. The Senate needs 60 votes to shut down a filibuster.

“If it’s not close, I think he might vote for cloture and favor Gorsuch’s nomination,” Preuhs told the Statesman. “If it is close to 40 votes, then he has a tougher decision.”

Bennet may also be “hearing footsteps” of a potential Democratic primary challenge when he faces reelection in 2020, Wadhams added, because “a vote on something like this, an appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court, is never forgotten.”

Preuhs seemed to disagree.

“I do not think the public memory will be long enough to affect his chances for reelection” in 2020, he said. “And I don’t think the Democrats are willing to risk the loss of a Senate seat in a general election when they would have a non-incumbent running coming out of the primary.”

Further complicating Bennet’s position is Gorsuch’s reputation as a more moderate conservative, with endorsements from a broad range of sources. Newspapers including the Denver Post, former Colorado Supreme Court Chief Justice Michael Bender, two staffers of past Democratic governors and Gorsuch’s own former clerks have all publicly supported his nomination.

Gorsuch’s more middle-of-the-road stances in his judicial rulings and writings, “While certainly conservative, are not of the kind we saw with (past nominee Robert) Bork or (Supreme Court Justice Clarence) Thomas,” Preuhs said.

Add in the facts Gorsuch is from Colorado and the lack of a Supreme Court justice from the interior of the country, and Wadhams said Bennet may end up voting for cloture, then vote against Gorsuch’s nomination to try to appease all sides.

“But there’s really no good alternative for Michael Bennet,” he added.