New Jersey's newest Senator, Robert Menendez, has announced that he will vote NO on the Samuel Alito nomination, according to
PoliticsNJ.
Menendez's position on the filibuster is unknown (at least to me) at this time.
This (oh so) obvious vote carries significant risk in Menendez's reelection race. I believe that voting against Alito carries no risk for almost all Dems (exceptions to those D's that have established reputations as generally right-of-center, as it could be used to argue inconsitency) because swing voters won't hold it against them, Dem base voters are very opposed, and GOP base voters are likely to turnout/not turnout based on other issues.
Menendez's situation is different, as Alito carries some home-state significance (eg "He may be a bastard, but he's our bastard"). Menendez is making the right move in a potentially tough situation, especially considering he is so early in his service as a Senator.