SENECA, S.C. — Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz said at a press conference Wednesday that he would not vote to confirm D.C. Circuit judge Sri Srinivasan to the Supreme Court if Srinivasan is nominated this year.

Cruz has called Srinivasan a friend, clerked with him, and voted for his confirmation to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in 2013, but when asked if he would vote to appoint him the nation's highest court, Cruz said, "I would not."

"I have been very clear that the Senate should not confirm any nominee in a lame duck session. It’s been 80 years since the Senate has confirmed a Supreme Court nominee who was nominated during an election," Cruz said. "And particularly when the court hangs in the balance, it makes no sense whatsoever to give Barack Obama the power to jam through a judge in the final election year."

"Voting for a candidate for the DC circuit is very different from confirming someone to the US Supreme Court," Cruz added.

Srinivasan is considered to be among the Obama administration's leading candidates for a Supreme Court nomination. Justice Antonin Scalia died unexpectedly last week, leaving a vacancy on the court.