Some senators still undecided on Sotomayor
Last evening, members of the U.S. Senate began the debate leading up to the confirmation vote for Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor. Once the speeches are over this week, she will have the votes necessary to confirm her. Today, the only question is how wide that margin will be.
There are still 15 undecided senators, according to C-Span, and so far Sotomayor has the pledged support of 57 senators and is being opposed by 28. That means she will be likely be sworn in with the third lowest margin of Senate support of the current justices. The last time a Supreme Court nominee was unopposed in the Senate was 1988, when Justice Anthony Kennedy was confirmed.
For some perspective, here is a list of the Senate vote margins for the current members of the Court, as well as the two current retired justices - in order on Senate support:
Retired Justice Sandra Day O’Connor: 99-0
Justice John Paul Stevens: 98-0
Justice Antonin Scalia: 98-0
Justice Anthony Kennedy: 97-0
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg: 96-3
Retired Justice David Souter: 90-9
Justice Stephen Breyer: 87-9
Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr.: 78-22
Justice Samuel Alito, Jr.: 58-42
Justice Clarence Thomas: 52-48
Now time for predictions! DC Dicta predicts that Sotomayor gets 70 votes in favor of confirmation. Disagree? Give us your prediction in the comments section. Update: So much for the prediction. According to C-Span, at least 31 senators will oppose Sotomayor, as of just before 8pm Wednesday.
