Poll: Republicans have caught up with Democrats in voter enthusiasm amid the Kavanaugh saga

Brett Kavanaugh.
(Image credit: Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

The 2018 midterms are now less than five weeks away and, according to a new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll, Republican voters have caught up with Democrats in viewing the election as "very important." In July, the same poll registered a 10-point enthusiasm gap, and while Democrats and Republicans are both more juiced to vote, Democrats now lead by a 2-point margin, 82 percent to 80 percent. The pollsters cite the contentious Senate hearings over Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court nomination and the sexual assault allegations against him.

"The result of hearings, at least in the short run, is the Republican base was awakened," says Lee Miringoff, Marist's polling director. Kavanaugh is historically unpopular for a nominee and polls show that significantly more people believe his accuser Christine Blasey Ford than him, but "the Republicans' approach has been, and continues to be, all about the base," Miringoff told NPR. "This is their M.O., and that's what we're seeing. That works if turnout is not high."

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.