Who will Obama choose to replace Antonin Scalia? Here are 7 of the strongest candidates. [View all]

[KamaAina]

http://www.vox.com/2016/2/13/10987836/obama-supreme-court-shortlist

Against tremendous opposition from Senate Republicans, Barack Obama has declared that he will too nominate someone to succeed the late Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court.

We don't know for sure who's on the president's Supreme Court shortlist, and his lists from 2009 and 2010, when he picked Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, don't necessarily apply now. Those two were replacing liberal justices and faced a Democratic Senate. Today, Obama has to pick a nominee who's not just acceptable to a Republican Senate, but acceptable as a replacement for Scalia.

That's a tough task, and as hard as Obama's inclinations are to predict, forecasting the reactions of Senate Republicans is even harder. With that being said, here are seven names you'll likely hear in the days and weeks ahead as leading contenders to succeed Scalia, in most cases because they're especially likely to be confirmed. Be sure to also check out ThinkProgress's Ian Millhiser and the New Yorker's Jeffrey Toobin, who have very useful lists.