Support for Barrett's confirmation has grown steadily across political spectrum, poll shows


Judge Amy Coney Barrett's nomination to the Supreme Court has been a major point of contention between Republicans and Democrats since President Trump made the call last month, primarily because of its proximity to the November election, which was the reason the Republican-led Senate blocked then-President Obama's nominee in 2016. But the latest Morning Consult poll on the matter suggests Americans across the political spectrum have grown increasingly supportive of Barrett's confirmation.
Back on Sept. 26, for example, only 14 percent of Democrats said the Senate should vote to confirm Barrett. That figure nearly doubled in Wednesday's poll. Overall, a plurality of Americans back Barrett's confirmation, while only 31 percent said the upper chamber should block her nomination, indicating that most of those in the initially undecided crowd have shifted toward the confirm camp.
Although public opinion does not directly affect the process, the numbers certainly appear to boost the likelihood that the GOP will have the numbers needed for Barrett to fill the seat. Still, it's worth noting the poll was conducted before Barrett's Senate Judiciary Committee hearing began this week.
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The Morning Consult poll was conducted online from October 09-11, 2020, among a national sample of 1986 registered voters. The margin of error was 2 percentage points. Read the full results here.
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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
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