Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval notified the White House on Thursday that he's not interested in a Supreme Court nomination.

In a statement, Sandoval said he has also "expressed the same desire" to Senators Harry Reid, Dean Heller and Mitch McConnell.

"The notion of being considered for a seat on the highest court in the land is beyond humbling and I am incredibly grateful to have been mentioned,” Sandoval's statement said.

The White House was considering the 52-year-old Sandoval, the state's first Hispanic governor and an abortion rights supporter, to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said that regardless of the nominee Obama is likely to settle on in the next few weeks, "This nomination will be determined by whoever wins the presidency in the fall."

Democratic have tried to keep a daily focus on the issue, and on Thursday, about two dozen Democratic senators stood outside the Supreme Court and called on Republicans to consider an Obama nominee.

"We have obstruction that is on steroids," said Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.

Added Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee: "They've taken an oath before God to do their job. They should do it."

The choice of Sandoval — a long shot — would have upend the political dynamic and challenged the GOP.

Last week, Sen. Heller, R-Nev., said people in his state should have a voice in approving a selection. Aides said that meant the next president should fill the vacancy. Heller's written statement concluded, "But should he decide to nominate someone to the Supreme Court, who knows, maybe it'll be a Nevadan."

Liberal groups have made clear they would have serious problems with Sandoval.

"Sandoval's checkered history on reproductive freedom should raise some serious flags — it certainly has for us," NARAL Pro-Choice America said in a statement.

Democracy for America said "nominating Sandoval to the Supreme Court would not only prevent grassroots organizations like Democracy for America from supporting the president in this nomination fight, it could lead us to actively encouraging Senate Democrats to oppose his appointment."

Before Sandoval was governor, he was the first Hispanic federal judge in Nevada.

Sandoval's critics at home have more often come from the right than from the left. In November 2012, he became the first Republican governor to expand Medicaid as part of Obama's health care law, drawing criticism from conservative members of his party.

Sandoval has raised taxes and declined to join state Attorney General Adam Laxalt, a Republican, in a federal lawsuit challenging U.S. regulations that protect the sage grouse. He has argued that negotiations with Interior Secretary Sally Jewell and other members of the Obama administration offer a better chance of an easing land-use restrictions for Nevada ranchers, miners and others than will a court battle.

He is limited to two terms as governor and is set to leave office in early 2019. He announced last year that he would not run for Reid's seat in November. Reid is retiring and Sandoval would have been a strong favorite.

"My heart is here. My heart is in my job," Sandoval said at the time.

Mari St. Martin, Sandoval's communications director, said Wednesday that the White House had not contacted the governor "regarding any potential vetting" for the high court.

At a governors' meeting over the weekend in Washington, Sandoval said he was honored his name was mentioned as a potential successor to Scalia, but had heard nothing to think the Democratic president was considering him.

Sandoval's consideration reverberated in the Senate race. Former state Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto, a Democrat, urged her Republican competitors to call for confirmation hearings if Sandoval is the pick.

Sandoval's consideration was first reported by The Washington Post.