Sotomayor Will Likely Get Some GOP Votes

Despite loud opposition from the likes of Newt Gingrich and Rush Limbaugh, many Republican senators may vote for Sonia Sotomayor, the New York Times reports. Strategists on both sides suspect that at least a third of the upper house’s 40 Republicans will back the Supreme Court nominee, including the seven who voted to confirm her to the federal appeals court.

The White House is hoping Sotomayor’s demographics will provide an extra layer of political insulation. Senators from places with significant Latino populations, like Arizona, Texas and Nevada, could also break for Sotomayor, as could anyone mulling a presidential run. Her comments on affirmative action are the lone chink in her armor, but Democrats are hoping that’s a passé issue. (More Sonia Sotomayor stories.)