US presidential race jolted by Scalia's death

15 February 2016 - 05H25

by Rochelle van Amber and Biodun Iginla, France24, Washington DC

WASHINGTON -  The sudden death of Justice Antonin Scalia, a towering conservative icon on the US Supreme Court, has set off an epic election-year battle over his successor that will shape American life far into the future.
Scalia died of an apparent heart attack at age 79, leaving what had been a conservative-dominated court evenly divided in a year of blockbuster cases -- on abortion, affirmative action, immigration and President Barack Obama's health care law.
The news sent shockwaves through the White House race, as Republican and Democratic candidates absorbed the implications of the surprise, potentially course-altering opening on the court.
"I think last night with the passing of Justice Scalia, we are reminded of how important this election is, how high the stakes are and why we must win," Senator Marco Rubio, in a bitter fight for the Republican nomination, told "Fox News Sunday."
Firing the first shot in the succession battle hours after Scalia's death, Obama said he would exercise his "constitutional responsibilities" and name a successor.
Leading Republicans -- including all six conservative White House contenders -- threatened to block any nomination Obama puts forth, arguing that it should be left to the next president to fill Scalia's vacant seat.
Republicans contended that no president in recent history has nominated a Supreme Court Justice in his final year in office.
But Justice Anthony Kennedy, nominated by Ronald Reagan, was confirmed in 1988, an election year.
Obama called on the Senate to give his nominee a "fair hearing and a timely vote."
The president nominates Supreme Court candidates, but Senate approval is required for them to take up the lifetime post, a long tenure that allows members of the court to be free from the political pressures of running for office.