Washington ? Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor won more GOP support in her drive toward near-certain Senate confirmation today as the first Hispanic justice, even as a growing chorus of Republicans called her unfit for the bench.

Republican Sens. Kit Bond of Missouri and Judd Gregg of New Hampshire broke with their party to announce they’d support President Barack Obama’s nominee, as the Senate cleared the way for a history-making vote that will shape the court for decades to come and could carry heavy political consequences for both parties.

“There’s been no significant finding against her, there’s been no public uprising against her,” said Bond, who is retiring. “I will support her, I’ll be proud for her, the community she represents and the American dream she shows is possible.”

Gregg said in a statement released by his office that politicizing the confirmation process — as he argued Democrats did when they blocked GOP nominees in the past — “undermines the public’s views of our courts and the integrity of our judicial system.”