Analysis: What the missing center has meant for the Supreme Court | CNN Politics

For over 50 years, conservative centrists like Sandra Day O'Connor and Anthony Kennedy anchored the Supreme Court.

Today's court lacks a pragmatic middle, leading to landmark reversals and heightened tensions among justices.

Recent voting rights rulings during midterm primaries demonstrate how the absence of a center reshapes American law.

AI-generated summary was reviewed by a CNN editor.

For more than a half century, the Supreme Court was anchored by a series of conservative centrists who controlled the most anticipated end-of-term rulings in June, pragmatic justices like Sandra Day O’Connor and Anthony Kennedy.