Conservatives are already targeting Kagan, circulating a memo arguing that she lacks the experience to serve on the Supreme Court and claiming her positions are "disturbingly out of the mainstream."

Elena Kagan: Supreme Court Nominee? All You Need To Know

Long before the election of President Barack Obama, Kagan was the subject of repeated speculation that she might be nominated to the Supreme Court of the United States if a Democratic president were elected in 2008.[15][16][17][18][19]  This speculation greatly increased on May 1, 2009, when Associate Justice David H. Souter announced his intention to retire from the court at the end of June 2009. It was speculated that her new position as Solicitor General could increase Kagan's already much discussed chances to be nominated, since solicitors general have often been considered potential nominees to the Supreme Court in the past. On May 13, 2009, the Associated Press reported that President Obama was considering Kagan, among others, for possible appointment to the United States Supreme Court.[20]  On May 26, 2009, however, President Obama announced that he was nominating Sonia Sotomayor to be the next United States Supreme Court Justice.[21]  In 2010, with rumors that John Paul Stevens could possibly retire in June, rumors have again begun to swirl around Kagan as a possible nominee to the bench.[22]

The order of preference:  Karlan, Wood, Kim Wardlaw....

Karlan comes from the Pac-10--always a good selling point.....The West Coast has been dissed and we need a representative on the Court.