These poll numbers were released earlier today by Rasmussen Reports -- "an electronic publishing firm specializing in the collection, publication, and distribution of public opinion polling information."
42% Still Oppose Kagan's Confirmation, but 87% Expect Her to Be Confirmed
Thursday, July 1, 2010
The Senate Judiciary Committee wrapped up questioning of U.S. Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan Wednesday night, but this week's hearings have done little to improve voters' perceptions of the former Harvard Law School dean.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of Likely Voters shows that the plurality (42%) still opposes Kagan's confirmation to the Supreme Court. Thirty-six percent (36%) favor her confirmation, while 22% are still undecided.
Whether they want to see it happen or not, most voters continue to see Kagan's nomination as inevitable. Eight-seven percent (87%) say it's at least somewhat likely Kagan will be confirmed as a Supreme Court justice. That number includes 59% who say it's Very Likely, the highest result yet.
Voters' support for Kagan's confirmation has changed little over the month of June, falling into a range of 33% to 36%. Meanwhile, the number of voters who are opposed to her confirmation has ranged from 41% to 42% during the same period. Voters were more divided on the question in surveys conducted in May.
While 62% of Democrats favor Kagan's nomination, nearly the same number of Republicans (65%) oppose it. Voters not affiliated with either major political party are more evenly divided, but the plurality (49%) opposes.
The survey of 1,000 Likely U.S. Voters was conducted on June 29-30, 2010 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC . See methodology .
Forty-one percent (41%) view Kagan favorably, while slightly more (46%) view her unfavorably. Those numbers include 16% who view her Very Favorably and 25% who view her Very Unfavorably, her highest negative rating so far.
Forty-nine percent (49%) of voters now view Kagan as politically liberal, the highest level measured since her nomination. Thirty-one percent (31%) see her as moderate and only 1% sees her as conservative. Nineteen percent (19%) are not sure about Kagan's ideology.
While voters' opinions of the nominee have changed little since the confirmation hearings began, they are following news on Kagan more than before. Seventy-nine percent (79%) are following news on Kagan at least somewhat closely, up 10 points from last week. Twenty percent (20%) say they are not following news on the nominee closely, if at all.