--- title: See 2016 Candidates Say Whether Scalia Should Be Replaced description: TIME Video offers a look at what presidential candidates said on the campaign trail after Scalia's death. canonical: https://time.com/4229426/scalia-watch-2016-candidates-discuss-replacement/ author: TIME Video article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-02-18T18:16:01.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-05T08:41:12.852Z article:section: Politics og:title: See 2016 Candidates Say Whether Scalia Should Be Replaced og:description: TIME Video offers a look at what presidential candidates said. og:url: https://time.com/4229426/scalia-watch-2016-candidates-discuss-replacement/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5afa03333b2653bf/69887da62dce01fd109e7d06/antonin-scalia-heart-attack1.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Supreme Court Justices Scalia and Ginsburg Discuss First Amendment At Forum og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: See 2016 Candidates Say Whether Scalia Should Be Replaced twitter:description: TIME Video offers a look at what presidential candidates said. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5afa03333b2653bf/69887da62dce01fd109e7d06/antonin-scalia-heart-attack1.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # See Presidential Candidates Say Whether Scalia Should Be Replaced > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=ac5eda4a-9dae-4d80-966b-69c34ca00c9a&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Candidates On Supreme Court Appointment [Watch (HLS stream): Candidates On Supreme Court Appointment](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/01dmO2CJ.m3u8) (1:49)  _Published 2016-02-18. The 2016 presidential candidates debated whether President Obama should nominate a replacement for Justice Scalia's seat or whether the Republican-controlled Senate should block a nomination_ by [TIME Video](https://time.com/author/time-video/) and [Daniel White](https://time.com/author/daniel-white/) Feb 18, 2016 6:16 PM UTC by [TIME Video](https://time.com/author/time-video/) and [Daniel White](https://time.com/author/daniel-white/) Feb 18, 2016 6:16 PM UTC The death of Justice Antonin Scalia last Saturday has been a polarizing event on the 2016 campaign trail. Republicans have moved to block or delay President Obama from nominating a replacement during his last year in office. “We’re not moving forward on a nominee until after the election. The next president should nominate it,” said Sen. Marco Rubio. “I believe I’ll be the next president and I’ll look for someone who’s as much like Scalia as possible.” Democrats, meantime, have been outraged at the suggestion. “The only reason to block this is pure partisanship,” said Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton, speaking at an event earlier in the week. Watch the video above to see the 2016 candidates’ reactions. ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] [ BLANK_AUDIO ] President Obama is eager to appoint Justice Scalia's replacement this year. I don't think President Obama should do that. And our friends in the media are really eager For President Obama to do that. The President has every right to submit a name and the Senate has every right either to have an upper down vote or to defer. I don't think there's any problem with doing that. The only reason to block this is pure partisanship. I tend to make 2016 a referendum On the U. S. Supreme Court. We're not moving forward on a nominee until after the election. The next president should nominate it. I believe I'll be the next president and I'm gonna look for someone who's as much as like Scalia as possible. When you wanna nominate somebody, just as Scalia was a fantastic man, you really want that person to be as close to him as possible. You know the Supreme Court, a very important part, Of our governing system, it was not supposed to be a partisan group. The idea that Republicans want to deny the President of the United States his basic constitutional right is beyond my comprehension. My sense is you're gonna have a presidential election here, people will in a very unusual way [ MUSIC ] Indirectly sort of pick the next judge of the Justices of Supreme Court, it's pretty interesting. So I will do everything that i can to make sure that when the president makes his nomination the Senate goes through as speedy a process as possible. There's a lot at stake here and I think that All the candidates, left and right ought to use this as the basis to outline what their judicial philosophy is so there are no surprises. 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