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But Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) said he would vote no. The split is a vivid reflection of the divisions in the GOP as the party faces a tricky vote on Sotomayor, wary of alienating its conservative base but equally afraid to anger Hispanic and female voters.

GOP Sens. Richard G. Lugar of Indiana, the Senate's most senior Republican; Mel Martinez of Florida, its lone Hispanic Republican; and Olympia J. Snowe of Maine all said they would vote for Sotomayor, praising her qualifications and her testimony at four days of Judiciary Committee hearings this week.