Polling News

Support For Gorsuch Confirmation

March 16, 2017

There is substantial public support for Pres. Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Neil Gorsuch, before the appellate judge’s confirmation hearing Monday.  According to a Feb. 13 Fox News poll, 49% of registered voters say they would “vote to confirm” Mr. Gorsuch while just 37% say they would not. 

Over the last dozen years, an average of 43% of voters have approved of Supreme Court nominees before their confirmation hearings and only two ­– Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Sonia Sotomayor – had ratings as high as Mr. Gorsuch’s ratings today.  One month before the hearing for Mr. Roberts began in 2005, 50% of voters said they would vote to confirm while 26% said they would not.  At the time of Ms. Sotomayor’s hearing in 2009, 53% of registered voters said they would vote to confirm while 29% said they would not. 

 

 

Even though more Republicans back Mr. Gorsuch than Democrats (82% and 17%, respectively), Independents also overwhelmingly support him (54% say confirm while 28% say not to confirm).  Broad public support puts pressure on Senate Democrats to join their Republican counterparts in voting to confirm Mr. Gorsuch, especially those up for re-election in states Mr. Trump won.  The Democrats’ liberal base may pressure them to obstruct the confirmation, but that would be an ill-advised strategy.  The same Fox poll found 54% of voters would disapprove of “Senate Democrats doing everything they can to block any of Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominees they don’t like.”  Liberal commentators may applaud hyper-partisan obstructionism, but voters will not.

Related PollingNews

Placeholder polling news
March 23, 2023 |
Polling News
With what is shaping up to be a contentious nominating process for the GOP over the coming 15 months, CNN and SSRS released a new poll providing insight into the thought process of Republicans and Republican-aligned independents.  ...
Placeholder polling news
March 16, 2023 |
Polling News
While observers saw a “red wave” growing towards Election Day 2022, it turns out that most polling was historically accurate, according to a FiveThirtyEight.com analysis.  ...
Placeholder polling news
March 09, 2023 |
Polling News
While many public opinion surveys have documented a steep decline in America’s trust in the Centers for Disease Control, HealthAffairs is out with a new Harvard-led survey that explains what’s driving that lack of trust.   ...
Placeholder polling news
February 23, 2023 |
Polling News
The Biden White House has been in overdrive recently making the case the “Biden Economic Plan is working.” ...
Button karlsbooks
Button readinglist
Button nextapperance