Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond who follows judicial issues in Congress, says U.S. Sen. Richard Burr wouldn’t be risking much of the Latino vote by opposing Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court.

“I think it might be a bigger risk that he may offend the base of his own party,” Tobias said.

Tobias pointed out that many of the Republican senators up for re-election next year, like Burr, have decided to vote with GOP leadership against Sotomayor, reports Barb Barrett.