WASHINGTON -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The longest-serving Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee told CNN Radio on Thursday that , barring any surprises , Sonia Sotomayor is headed for a Supreme Court confirmation . Judge Sonia Sotomayor would be the first Hispanic on the U.S. Supreme Court . `` If there are no otherwise disqualifying matters here , it appears to me she will probably be confirmed , '' Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah said . Hatch was acknowledging the current Senate political landscape . Sotomayor was nominated by a Democrat president , and Democrats could have 60 votes in the 100-member chamber if Minnesota 's Al Franken is seated . They now hold 12 of the 19 seats on the Senate Judiciary Committee that will first consider Sotomayor 's nomination . Sen. Pat Roberts , R-Kansas , said Thursday he does not plan to vote to confirm Sotomayor , becoming the first Republican to explicitly state his opposition . `` She has made statements on the role of the appeals court I think is improper and incorrect , '' Roberts said . `` I think that we should be judging people not on race and gender , or background or ethnicity or a very compelling story . '' Hatch -- who unlike Roberts voted in favor of Sotomayor 's 1998 nomination to the federal appeals court -- also revealed one of the first Republican battle lines on the nomination : the schedule . See Sotomayor 's key rulings '' President Obama and other Sotomayor supporters say they want her confirmed before the Senate goes on its August recess , so that she can be well-situated for the start of the next Supreme Court session in October . Hatch and fellow Judiciary Committee Republicans Jon Kyl of Arizona and John Cornyn of Texas are pushing for a longer timeframe . They say it is almost impossible to review Sotomayor 's extensive record , debate her nomination and hold a Senate vote by August . `` If the Democrats do n't overplay their hand and do n't try to rush this too much , the process will go well , they 'll be better off , she 'll get confirmed , '' Hatch said , again adding that his prediction is based on no new concerns coming to light . The opposition party usually fights for extensive time to try to find hidden issues in a Supreme Court nominee 's record . Hatch said senators need three months to consider Sotomayor and that a vote should come in September , after the Senate 's August break . A September vote would crunch Sotomayor 's preparation time for setting up her office before the high court 's next term begins . It also would complicate Democratic fights on health care and energy that could reach a critical point at that time . See whom Sotomayor would sit alongside if she 's confirmed '' Hatch insisted a September Senate vote would get Sotomayor on the bench in time for the new Supreme Court session . `` If they do it the right way , '' he said of Senate Democrats , `` and there is no otherwise disqualifying feature to this , it is highly likely she is going to be confirmed as the ninth justice on the Supreme Court in time to sit on the court on the first Monday of October . '' Meetings on the timetable have begun . On Thursday , White House staffers met with aides to Democrats on the Judiciary Committee to go over this and their strategies for Sotomayor 's confirmation , according to a Senate Democratic aide involved in the confirmation process . Sotomayor will go to Capitol Hill as early as Tuesday to meet with senators who will vote on her confirmation . The Judiciary Committee has not announced when the confirmation hearings will begin . Democrats were relieved Wednesday when Sen. Jeff Sessions , R-Alabama , and the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee , said he did not think Republicans would block the nomination with a filibuster . But prominent conservatives still are trying to stir public opinion against Sotomayor . Radio host Rush Limbaugh and former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich have called her racist , pointing to an October 2001 speech at the University of California , Berkeley . During that speech , she said : `` I would hope that a wise Latina woman , with the richness of her experiences , would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who has n't lived that life . '' The Senate Democratic aide involved in the confirmation process said Democrats are pleased with the initial response from Republican senators to Sotomayor 's nomination , saying it was a `` good sign '' that GOP senators have not adopted some of the language coming from Limbaugh and Gingrich . `` If the fire-breathing rhetoric is contained to the far right element , it does n't jeopardize the nomination , '' the aide said . CNN 's Alexander Mooney contributed to this report .