Romney told reporters Tuesday, however, that he did not expect to announce his decision until the day of the confirmation vote. “Once I have made a decision on what I will do in this vote, you will see, but that is probably not until the day of the vote itself,” he said. After meeting with Jackson, Romney said in a statement that “they had a wide-ranging discussion about her experience and qualifications.” “She is a very impressive person. She is smart, capable, she is also a wonderful person and I think she is very much for her,” Romney later told CNN. “But deepening the differences over the jurisprudence and its approach to the law is something I will continue to work on.” Jackson also met with Collins on Tuesday. Only three Republican senators voted in favor of Jackson last year when the Senate confirmed her to fill a vacancy in a strong DC-based court of appeals: Collins and Lindsay Graham of South Carolina and Lisa Murka of Alaska. Collins told reporters that Jackson “provided clarifications on some of the issues, so it was a useful meeting and I will think about her answers tonight.” Pushing about what these issues were, Collins would just say, “I watched a lot of the issues that you would probably think I would follow up on.” Graham, who is a member of the Justice Committee, addressed strong, highly critical questions to the candidate at her confirmation hearing last week and appeared to say he would not support her candidacy. Collins and Murkowski did not sit on the Senate Justice Committee and did not have the opportunity to question the candidate during the hearings. Former Sen. Doug Jones, who acts as a “sherpa” for the candidate, told reporters Tuesday after Jackson’s second meeting with Collins that he believes the judge “answered all the questions” of the Republican of Maine. “I think we answered all the questions. It was a very good meeting. We really appreciated Senator Collins’ time,” he added. Asked how much support Jackson expected to receive from Republicans, Jones said: “We do not take anything for granted, (the) confirmation vote has not yet come, and so we will continue to work.” He also acknowledged that Collins is the only senator Jackson has met in person more than once. So far, however, no Democrat has publicly stated that he will vote against the candidate. West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, a key moderate and surprise vote, announced Friday that he plans to vote for Jackson, a move he guarantees will be confirmed. Mancin has accused some Republicans of criticizing Jackson of being kind to crime, a charge the candidate and Democrats have denied. “It was embarrassing. It really was what I saw. I met her, I read all the transcripts … It was embarrassing. It’s not who we are. It’s not what they sent us here to do, to attack other people and try to bring them down. “I am not going to be a part of that. I think he has great qualifications and I think he will be an exemplary judge,” Manchin told CNN. This story has been updated with additional developments on Tuesday. CNN’s Manu Raju and Ted Barrett contributed to this report.
