Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia’s death has quickly sparked a heated debate over whether President Barack Obama should nominate a replacement.

The leader of the Senate, Republican Mitch McConnell, says the nomination should fall to the next president. The Republican-led Senate would confirm any nominee by Obama.

Republican presidential candidates Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio also say Obama should hold off on a nomination.

Democrats immediately raised objections. The Senate’s top Democrat, Harry Reid, says it would be “unprecedented in recent history” for the Supreme Court to go a year with a vacancy and urged Obama to send the Senate a nominee right away.

Leaders in both parties are likely to use the vacancy to implore voters to nominate presidential candidates with the best chance of winning in November’s general election.

(AP)