U.S. Senate votes to confirm Sotomayor

WASHINGTON, Aug. 6 (UPI) -- The U.S. Senate voted 68-31 Thursday to confirm federal Judge Sonia Sotomayor as the first Hispanic on the U.S. Supreme Court.

Democrats and Republicans were divided in their opinions on Sotomayor's qualifications to join the nation's highest bench. Democrats praised her as a fair and impartial jurist with a sharp judicial mind while Republicans said they feared she would be a judicial activist intent on making law instead of applying law.

During Wednesday's floor speeches, Republicans Kit Bond of Missouri and Judd Gregg of New Hampshire said they would vote to confirm Sotomayor. They joined Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe, both of Maine; Richard Lugar of Indiana, Mel Martinez of Florida, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Lamar Alexander of Tennessee.

A CNN poll released Thursday indicated a majority of Americans supported Sotomayor's nomination. The poll also showed a partisan divide like that in the Senate with three-quarters of Democrats and only one-quarter of Republicans saying she should be confirmed.

After the vote, President Barack Obama thanked the Judiciary Committee and the Senate for scrutinizing Sotomayor's record and giving her a fair hearing.

"These core American ideals -- justice, equality and opportunity -- are the very ideals that have made Judge Sotomayor's own uniquely American journey possible," he said.