Polling for the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett is breaking for Republicans ahead of the November election, with the majority of adults backing President Trump’s pick for the high court.
A Gallup poll published Monday shows 51% of Americans want to see Judge Barrett fill the seat left vacant by the passing of the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, while 46% oppose the president’s nominee. The survey shows that only 3% of respondents did not have an opinion on the matter.
Gallup has been polling the opinions about Supreme Court nominees since 1987, and the initial support for Judge Barrett, who currently sits on the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, is higher than it has been for President Trump’s previous two high court appointments, Justices Neil M. Gorsuch and Brett M. Kavanaugh.
However, the opposition for Judge Barrett is also higher than any other nominee’s initial polling, according to Gallup. This is due in part because the percentage of Americans without an opinion is currently lower than it has ever been in the survey’s history — suggesting voters are paying close attention to the Supreme Court ahead of the Nov. 3 election.
The poll was conducted Sept. 30 through Oct. 15, which was the fourth and final day of Judge Barrett’s confirmation hearings.
Senate Republicans will likely confirm Judge Barrett next week after the Senate Judiciary Committee votes on the nominee Thursday, sending her confirmation to the full chamber.
She will be the fifth woman to sit on the high court but the first to be a mother of school-age children.
The Gallup poll surveyed 1,035 adults and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
• Alex Swoyer can be reached at aswoyer@washingtontimes.com.
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