Nevada Governor Not Interested in Supreme Court Nomination

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval told the White House Thursday he's not interested in Supreme Court nomination.

The Republican governor issued a statement the day after The Washington Post reported the White House was considering him as a potential replacement for the late Justice Antonin Scalia.

Senate Republicans have said they will not consider a nominee from President Barack Obama during an election year.

"Earlier today, I notified the White House that I do not wish to be considered at this time for possible nomination to the Supreme Court of the United States," Sandoval wrote. "The notion of being considered for a seat on the highest court in the land is beyond humbling, and I am incredibly grateful to have been mentioned."

It was believed that Sandoval's nomination would have given President Barack Obama a shot at breaking Senate Republicans' planned blockade of any election-year confirmation.

The 52-year-old  Sandoval is Nevada's first Hispanic governor and an abortion rights supporter.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said that regardless of the nominee Obama is likely to settle on in the next few weeks, "This nomination will be determined by whoever wins the presidency in the fall."

Democratic have tried to keep a daily focus on the issue, and on Thursday, about two dozen Democratic senators stood outside the Supreme Court and called on Republicans to consider an Obama nominee.

"We have obstruction that is on steroids," said Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.

Added Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee: "They've taken an oath before God to do their job. They should do it."

Sandoval's critics at home have more often come from the right than from the left. In November 2012, he became the first Republican governor to expand Medicaid as part of Obama's health care law, drawing criticism from conservative members of his party.

Sandoval has raised taxes and declined to join state Attorney General Adam Laxalt, a Republican, in a federal lawsuit challenging U.S. regulations that protect the sage grouse. He has argued that negotiations with Interior Secretary Sally Jewell and other members of the Obama administration offer a better chance of an easing land-use restrictions for Nevada ranchers, miners and others than will a court battle.

He is limited to two terms as governor and is set to leave office in early 2019. He announced last year that he would not run for Reid's seat in November. Reid is retiring and Sandoval would have been a strong favorite.

"My heart is here. My heart is in my job," Sandoval said at the time.

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