When nominating a justice to the Supreme Court the President must consider a variety of factors, the main factor that the President must take into account is the nominee's ideology since it influences how the Senate will react to the confirmation. The Senate is less likely to confirm a justice who is ideologically distant from the majority of senators of from the senator's constituencies. The President must also take into account several other factors, many of which will be discussed in this essay. Research shows that the President takes five majors factors into account when choosing a nominee for the Supreme Court: the ideology of the nominee compared to the President and Senate; the makeup of the Court; the background of the nominee, including race, gender, geographic location, and religion; the qualifications of the nominees; and the political power of the President.
             A President is more likely to choose a nominee that he feels has ideological similarities to himself. Presidents nominate those who have consistent conservative, if the president is a Republican, or liberal views, if he is a Democrat, in order that the future decisions of the nominee on certain issues may be ascertained beforehand. Simply, a Republican President will nominate a more conservative justice that shares his views on certain issues, and a Democratic President will nominate a more liberal justice that shares his views. However, the President must also take into account the ideological makeup of the Senate. Therefore, most justices confirmed are considered moderate because of compromise the President must make between his ideology and the ideological makeup of the Senate.
             The President also takes into account the makeup of the Court at that time. The President may attempt to move the Court in one direction or the other to make it further reflect his and his administration or party's views. However, if the Senate majority is not of the same party as the P...