RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - A Senate panel has endorsed the nomination of former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli to the state Supreme Court.
The Senate Courts of Justice Committee voted along party lines to advance Cuccinelli's nomination on Tuesday.
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The committee vote followed the Senate's failure to elect Court of Appeals Judge Rossie Alston to the high court.
Alston had been the top choice of Republican leaders, who rejected Justice Jane Marum Roush, McAuliffe's selection for Supreme Court.
But a Republican holdout, Sen. Glen Sturtevant, blocked GOP efforts to elect Alston.
Sturtevant supported Cuccinelli's nomination in committee Tuesday. Sturtevant said he will endorse Cuccinelli when his nomination comes to the Senate floor because the former attorney general hasn't been used as a "political pawn" by the General Assembly.
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