WASHINGTON _ Civil rights advocates, conservative activists and 99 U.S. senators are all watching intently to see if Sen. Tim Scott sticks with his party or breaks with the GOP on a controversial judicial nominee.
It is looking increasingly likely the South Carolinian, the only black Republican senator, will be the deciding vote in whether the Senate confirms Thomas Farr to a federal judgeship in eastern North Carolina.
Amid allegations Farr has spent his career working to suppress African-American voting rights, nearly every Republican has signaled he or she will vote for Farr except for Scott, who insists he is "still researching" the nominee.
