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POPSRepublicans see themselves in the backseat for YEARS to come. More: Recently named counselor to the Senate Republican leader, Martinez has been a factor in GOP leadership meetings. As the lone Hispanic among Senate Republicans and, briefly, as chair of the Republican National Committee, he tried to move his party toward adopting a policy of comprehensive immigration reform, without success. On Thursday, he was one of only nine Republicans to vote to confirm Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court, the first Hispanic to serve on the high court.