If Joe Biden thought that a Supreme Court nomination fight might rejuvenate his presidency, at least one new poll has thrown cold water on that idea.
While some polls have suggested that Jackson has majority support, in the latest Politico/Morning Consult poll only 47% of voters believe Biden’s nominee, Ketanji Brown Jackson, should be confirmed. The only bright spot of this poll for Jackson is that far fewer, 19%, oppose her nomination. But where things look particularly bad for her is how she rates with independents. A mere 39% of independents say she should be confirmed, which is a rather low number. The same goes for the 75% of Democrats who support her confirmation—which is down from 80% earlier this month.
Eli Yokley of Morning Consult nevertheless spun the numbers positively, claiming Jackson had “sturdy backing,” but that’s misleading for two reasons. First, she failed to get support from a majority of those surveyed—which is not a strong position. Second, this poll, which was conducted March 18-21, comes mostly prior to her confirmation hearings, meaning that many voters simply haven’t had the opportunity to form an opinion on Jackson yet. Republicans have aggressively been highlighting her soft-on-crime record as a judge, which includes a disturbing pattern of leniency for sex offenders and child pornographers.
Related: Media Bias Works: Ketanji Brown Jackson Is Widely Popular
Republicans have also been pointing out her past embrace of critical race theory and its advocates, and her controversial refusal to define what a woman is. These positions presumably will hurt her image amongst Americans who haven’t yet made up their minds about her.
Another poll from the Wall Street Journal was slightly better for Jackson, with 51% supporting her confirmation, but showed a larger number, 30%, opposing her confirmation. That poll also was conducted prior to the confirmation hearings, and it remains to be seen what impact, if any, they’ll have on public opinion.
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