WASHINGTON — Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, announced Tuesday that she'd vote against Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor. Earlier, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved her nomination, 13 to 6, with Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, voting no.
Hutchison's decision was being watched in political circles because of her anticipated run for governor.
"I will oppose the nomination of Judge Sotomayor when it comes to the floor of the Senate," Hutchison said. "After her meeting with me and her testimony before the Judiciary Committee, I remain concerned about her views on the Second Amendment."
Hutchison, a lawyer who found it difficult to get a job after graduating from the University of Texas Law School in the 1960s, said she was sensitive to discrimination, even though she couldn't support the nomination of Sotomayor, who'd be the first Hispanic and the third woman on the Supreme Court.
"Thirty percent of the federal judges I have selected for nomination for Texas are Hispanic and I will continue to support the most qualified judges irrespective of race or gender," she said.