Has there ever been a filibuster of a Supreme Court nominee?
I’m guessing not because Thomas was confirmed in a close 52-48,vote, and Alito was confirmed by only 58-42. Based on these votes, the Democrats could have upheld filibusters if they had chosen to do so..
Does "Borking" count as a filibuster?
Lyndon Johnson's nomination of sitting Associate Justice Abe Fortas to succeed Earl Warren as Chief Justice was successfully filibustered in 1968.
In the summer of 1968, Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-S.C.) opposed President Lyndon B. Johnson’s choice of then-Justice Abe Fortas to the top spot on the Supreme Court of chief justice. (In the Senate, one senator can block just about anything.)
Thurmond’s rationale for blocking Fortas’s promotion was was both parliamentary and political. Johnson, who wasn’t running for reelection, was a lame duck. It was just six months or so before the presidential election that Thurmond’s party had a good chance to win.