Here is an unofficial list of potential nominees for the Supreme Court if President Barack Obama is reelected . This list was compiled from a number of legal and political sources , including government officials deeply involved in the selections of Justices Sonia Sotomayor ( 2009 ) and Elena Kagan ( 2010 ) . The Obama administration , like those before , keeps an informal list of possible high court nominees to consider in the event of a sudden vacancy . But serious vetting only begins when such a vacancy occurs or is announced in advance by the retiring justice . Election raises stakes for possible high court vacancies . Kamala Harris , California attorney general . Born 1964 . She was elected to her current job in 2010 . She is part African-American , part Asian-American . Her father is a Jamaican-born Stanford University economics professor and her mother is an Indian-born ( native Tamil ) physician who works as a breast cancer specialist . Harris is a former San Francisco district attorney and author of `` Smart on Crime . '' Her political savvy , ethnic background , telegenic personality , law enforcement credentials , and early support of President Obama 's 2008 candidacy make her a favorite for any high court vacancy in any second-term , and possibly for U.S. Attorney General . Complications : Harris may seek re-election in 2014 and then may run for governor the following year . Judge Paul Watford , 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals , San Francisco . Born 1967 . His age and race ( African-American ) have made him a favorite among some liberal court watchers . Named to the appeals court in 2012 . Clerked for conservative Judge Alex Kozinski on the 9th Circuit , and later for liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg . A former federal prosecutor and law firm partner . Supporters call him an ideological moderate , which may not sit well with progressives seeking a stronger left-leaning voice . Supreme Court possibilities if Romney is elected . Judge Jacqueline Hong-Ngoc Nguyen , 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals , San Francisco . Born 1965 in Dalat , Vietnam ( as Hong-Ngoc Thi Nguyen ) . Named to the court in 2012 after two years as a federal district court judge . She could make history as the high court 's first Asian-American justice . Nguyen is already the first Asian-American woman to sit on a federal appeals court . A former state judge , federal prosecutor , and private attorney . She moved with her family to the United States when she was 10 , just after the fall of South Vietnam to the Communists , and her parents eventually set up a doughnut shop in North Hollywood , California . Kathryn Ruemmler , White House counsel . Born 1971 . Has enjoyed a meteoric rise in private practice and government circles . She most famously helped lead the prosecution in the Enron fraud case in 2006 . She earned high praise in the White House for helping spearhead legal defense of the health care overhaul bill championed by President Obama , whose constitutionality was ultimately upheld by the Supreme Court . She also supervised the vetting , and shepherded the Kagan and Sotomayor high court nominations through the Senate . No judicial experience , but recall President George W. Bush tapped his White House counsel Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court , before she withdrew from consideration . Toobin : Why are candidates silent on Supreme Court ? Mary Murguia , 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals , San Francisco . Born 1960 . Named to her current job by President Obama in 2010 , after service as a federal district court judge in Arizona . The Kansas native is the daughter of Mexican immigrants . Her twin sister is noted civil rights leader Janet Murguia , and her older brother , Carlos Murguia is also a federal judge . Lisa Madigan , Illinois attorney general . Born 1966 . Elected as the state 's highest law enforcement official in 2002 . She is the adopted daughter of longtime Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan . A former state senator , she worked down the hall from fellow lawmaker Barack Obama . She gained national prominence after seeking a motion to have former Gov . Rod Blagojevich temporarily removed from office in 2008 . She also argued a search and seizure case before the justices in 2004 . Her long friendship with the president , political skills , and law enforcement background have made her a favorite . Judge Diane Wood , 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals , Chicago . Born 1950 . Has sat on the bench since 1995 . Twice a finalist for the high court vacancies in 2009-10 . Considered a mainstream liberal , well-regarded by many legal analysts as a strong , articulate progressive voice . Former clerk for Justice Harry Blackmun , and served in both the Reagan and Clinton Justice departments . Like fellow 7th Circuit judges Richard Posner and Frank Easterbrook -- both conservative heavyweights considered for the Supreme Court by President George W. Bush -- Wood teaches part-time at the University of Chicago . Her age may dampen her chances . Judge Merrick Garland , U.S. Court of Appeals , D.C . Circuit . Born 1952 . Finalist for the high court seats that went to Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan . A possible compromise choice , considered a relative judicial moderate on the high-profile appeals court . Four current justices came directly from the D.C. circuit . Garland was a former associate deputy attorney general and supervised the criminal prosecution of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing , which could play well in the post 9/11 environment . His perceived `` moderate '' views may not sit well with some liberals .
The Obama administration keeps an informal list of possible Supreme Court nominees . Experts see six women , two men in pool of potential nominees if Obama reelected . Three potential candidates hold state or federal political posts . Three judges discussed among legal experts sit on 9th federal circuit in San Francisco .