68% See Barrett Confirmation as Very Likely

Following her confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, just over half of voters think U.S. Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett should be confirmed, and a sizable majority say she is Very Likely to be the next member of the high court.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 51% of Likely U.S. Voters believe the Senate should confirm Barrett as a Supreme Court justice based on what they know at this time. That’s a 12-point increase from 39% when we first asked this question in late September just after President Trump nominated Barrett to fill the seat of the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Forty percent (40%) still disagree, but that’s down from 49% in the first survey. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

Regardless of whether or not they believe she should be confirmed, 88% now think Barrett is likely to be confirmed for the Supreme Court, with 68% who say it’s Very Likely. This compares to 79% and 54% in the first survey. Just seven percent (7%) now say Barrett, a federal judge, is not very or Not At All Likely to be confirmed.

Eighty-two percent (82%) of Republicans say the Senate should confirm Barrett, a view shared by 29% of Democrats. Sixty-one percent (61%) of Democratic voters disagree. Voters not affiliated with either major party are evenly divided.

But 59% of Democrats agree with 81% of GOP voters and 64% of unaffiliateds that Barrett is now Very Likely to be confirmed as a Supreme Court justice.

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The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted October 14-15, 2020 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.

Some of Barrett’s Democratic opponents criticize her conservative Catholic beliefs. But three-out-of-four voters say a nominee’s religious faith should not determine whether he or she can serve on the U.S. Supreme Court.

Fifty-three percent (53%) of voters now hold a favorable opinion of Barrett, including 41% with a Very Favorable one. Thirty-eight percent (38%) still view her unfavorably, with Very Unfavorables of 24%. Just after her nomination, however, Barrett was seen favorably by just 40% and unfavorably by 42%.

Men like the nominee more than women do and are more confident she will be confirmed to the Supreme Court. Middle-aged voters are her strongest supporters.

Blacks are far less likely than whites and other minority voters to believe she should be confirmed as a Supreme Court justice.

Ninety-five percent (95%) of voters who Strongly Approve of the job Trump is doing think the Senate should confirm Barrett. Only nine percent (9%) of those who Strongly Disapprove of the president’s job performance agree.

Immediately following Ginsburg’s death in mid-September, 51% of voters said filling her seat should be put off until after the election for the next president to decide. Forty-five percent (45%) – and 83% of Republicans – said Trump should nominate someone for the post.

Angered by Trump’s nomination of Barrett, several prominent Democrats have suggested adding more members to the high court or imposing term limits on the justices if their party regains control of the Senate. Most voters continue to favor term limits for the Supreme Court but oppose packing it with more members.

Additional information from this survey and a full demographic breakdown are available to Platinum Members only.

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