Lamar Alexander of Tennessee became the sixth Republican senator to announce he will vote in favor of Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation, in floor remarks this morning.

"Even though Judge Sotomayor's political and judicial philosophy may be different than mine, especially regarding Second Amendment rights, I will vote to confirm her because she is well qualified by experience, temperament, character and intellect to serve as an associate justice of the United States Supreme Court," said Alexander.

Alexander joins Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and moderate Sens. Richard Lugar of Indiana, Mel Martinez of Florida, and Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine in pledging to vote in favor of President Obama's nominee. Keep track of which senators vote yes or no with NationalJournal.com's Vote Tracker.

Alexander did not neglect to take a shot at the president and Senate Democrats even as he approved their nominee.

"In 2005, I said on this floor that it was wrong for then-Senator Obama and half the Democratic senators to vote against John Roberts -- a superbly qualified nominee -- solely because they disagreed with what Senator Obama described as Roberts' 'overarching political philosophy' and his 'work in the White House and the Solicitor General's office' that 'consistently sided' with 'the strong in opposition to the weak,'" Alexander said. "Today, it would be equally wrong for me to vote against Judge Sotomayor solely because she is not 'on my side' on some issues."

Obama's votes against Roberts and Samuel Alito have been cited by Republicans voting for and against Sotomayor. Alexander and Graham have used them to decry the politicization of the confirmation process and set themselves apart from the president in this regard. Numerous other GOP senators, on the other hand, have cited them as a precedent for voting against confirmation of a nominee whose judicial philosophy they don't agree with, regardless of qualifications.