Sen. Scott Brown will vote against Solicitor General Elena Kagan’s nomination to be the next Supreme Court Justice on Thursday, citing her lack of judicial experience.

Democrats had hoped the Massachusetts Republican — who has made a name for himself by breaking with his leadership on several major votes ­— would support Kagan. As one of her home-state Senators, Brown helped introduce Kagan at the start of her Judiciary Committee hearings last month.

But in a statement released by his office Thursday, Brown said her lack of experience as a judge disqualifies her.

“The reason is simple. I believe nominees to the Supreme Court should have previously served on the bench. Lacking that, I look for many years of practical courtroom experience to compensate for the absence of prior judicial experience. In Elena Kagan’s case, she is missing both. When it comes to the Supreme Court, experience matters,” Brown said.