GOP hopes to delay Sotomayor vote

Sessions said Republicans would seek a Senate Judiciary Committee vote on July 28, a week past the date sought by Democrats. Republicans will use that additional time to review her record, her responses during last week’s hearings, and her answers to additional questions sent to her, he said.

In the hearings, Republicans focused on her remark that a “wise Latina’’ might come to a better conclusion than a white male and over her appeals court ruling in an affirmative action case involving white firefighters in New Haven. The Supreme Court reversed the ruling and found in favor of the firefighters.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said he will not vote to confirm Sotomayor, citing what he called her lack of objectivity and his concern that her personal opinions would shape her rulings.

Neither Sessions nor Senator Patrick Leahy, the Vermont Democrat who is committee chairman, would predict how many Republican votes Sotomayor’s confirmation might receive.