National (US) Poll * June 4, 2009 * Sotomayor Weathers First Week - Quinnipiac University

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June 4, 2009 - Sotomayor Weathers First Week With High Approval, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; Obama Coalition Tops Protestants, Evangelicals

Word format Led by large black, Hispanic and Jewish majorities, American voters approve 55 - 25 percent of President Barack Obama's nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court, according to a Quinnipiac University national poll released today. Approval of her nomination remained high throughout the seven days of the survey.
The Sotomayor nomination wins support from Democrats 80 - 5 percent and independent voters 53 - 26 percent, while Republicans disapprove 47 - 30 percent, the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University survey of more than 3,000 voters nationwide finds.
Men approve 50 - 31 percent while women approve 60 - 20 percent. Approval among other groups is:
49 - 29 percent among white voters; 85 - 2 percent among black voters; 58 - 24 percent among Hispanic voters; 51 - 26 percent among white Catholics; 66 - 18 percent among Jews; 43 - 37 percent among white Protestants White evangelical Christians oppose the nomination 41 - 35 percent.
Judge Sotomayor is "more liberal" than they would like, 30 percent of voters say, with 5 percent who say "not liberal enough" and 44 percent who say she is "about right."
"So far the Republicans have barely laid a glove on Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor. There may be disputes within the Beltway about her nomination, but she is still playing well in Peoria," said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.
"Since her nomination nine days ago, her level of support with the American people has been constant. This is an indication that criticism from some conservatives and Republicans has not struck a chord with the voters - at least not yet," Brown added.
"To a considerable degree, feelings about the wisdom of Judge Sotomayor's selection match attitudes about President Barack Obama. Those who are most supportive of the President - Democrats, racial minorities, Jews and liberals - are the most in her corner. Those who are least happy with the president - Republicans, conservatives and white evangelical Christians -are more likely to oppose her nomination."
"If Republicans want to send Sotomayor back to New York, they must convince voters, and Senators who are afraid of the 'liberal' label, that she is 'too liberal.' So far, the plurality of voters think she's 'just right,' a finding that remained constant in a week of polling."
A nominee's legal qualifications are more important than achieving diversity on the Supreme Court, American voters say 57 - 8 percent, while 30 percent say both factors are equally important.
U.S. Senators should consider only Judge Sotomayor's legal qualifications in deciding whether to approve her nomination, 46 percent of voters say, while 44 percent say Senators should consider her views on issues such as abortion and affirmative action.
American voters approve 62 - 22 percent of the U.S. Supreme Court, the highest approval ever measured in a Quinnipiac University poll, topping 58 - 27 percent May 3, 2007, and reversing a negative 39 - 43 percent July 17, 2008. Among all political, racial, religious, age and income groups, approval of the Supreme Court ranges from 71 percent among Catholics to 54 percent among self-described conservatives.
President Barack Obama gets a 59 - 31 percent approval rating with only Republicans, conservatives and white evangelical Christians disapproving. This gives President Obama four straight months of 58 or 59 percent approval ratings.
From May 26 - June 1, Quinnipiac University surveyed 3,097 registered voters nationwide with a margin of error of +/- 1.8 percentage points.
The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts public opinion surveys in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Ohio and the nation as a public service and for research. For more data or RSS feed - http://www.quinnipiac.edu/polling.xml, or call (203) 582-5201.
1. If the 2010 election for U.S. House of Representatives were being held today, would you vote for - the Republican candidate or the Democratic candidate in your district?
Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His Republican 32% 80% 1% 26% 35% 30% 39% 3% 26% Democratic 42 3 89 29 37 46 34 81 52 SMONE ELSE(VOL) 2 1 1 4 4 1 2 1 7 WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 1 - - 2 1 1 1 2 - DK/NA 22 16 9 39 23 22 24 14 14 AGE IN YRS....... INCOME............. POL PHIL......... 18-34 35-54 55+ <50 50-100 >100K Lib Mod Con Republican 25% 35% 32% 26% 38% 39% 6% 25% 60% Democratic 47 41 42 51 36 36 74 46 16 SMONE ELSE(VOL) 3 2 1 2 2 2 2 1 3 WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 DK/NA 24 21 23 19 23 22 17 26 20 PRES VOTE.......... WHITE............. Bush/ Kerry/ Bush/ NoColl Coll BrnAgn McCain Obama Obama Degree Degree Evngl Prot Cath Jew Republican 79% 2% 16% 32% 31% 53% 47% 38% 20% Democratic 2 83 48 42 43 22 27 37 63 SMONE ELSE(VOL) 2 1 1 2 2 2 2 1 2 WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 1 - 2 1 1 1 1 1 - DK/NA 17 15 33 22 22 22 23 23 16
TREND: If the 2010 election for U.S. House of Representatives were being held today, would you vote for - the Republican candidate or the Democratic candidate in your district?
Jun 4 Apr 29 2009 2009 Republican 32 34 Democrat 42 41 SMONE ELSE(VOL) 2 1 WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 1 1 DK/NA 22 22
2. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as President?
Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His Approve 59% 23% 91% 57% 54% 64% 52% 93% 66% Disapprove 31 65 3 30 36 26 37 2 24 DK/NA 10 11 5 13 10 10 11 5 10 AGE IN YRS....... INCOME............. POL PHIL......... 18-34 35-54 55+ <50 50-100 >100K Lib Mod Con Approve 66% 59% 56% 65% 54% 56% 86% 69% 28% Disapprove 25 31 33 25 37 38 9 19 61 DK/NA 9 9 11 10 9 6 5 11 11 PRES VOTE.......... WHITE............. Bush/ Kerry/ Bush/ NoColl Coll BrnAgn McCain Obama Obama Degree Degree Evngl Prot Cath Jew Approve 15% 94% 85% 58% 62% 38% 46% 54% 75% Disapprove 75 2 7 32 28 51 43 33 17 DK/NA 11 3 9 10 10 11 11 13 8
TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as president?
Jun 4 Apr 29 Apr 01 Mar 04 2009 2009 2009 2009 Approve 59 58 58 59 Disapprove 31 30 31 25 DK/NA 10 12 11 16
3. Do you approve or disapprove of the way the Democrats in Congress are handling their job?
Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His Approve 43% 13% 78% 33% 38% 48% 36% 80% 51% Disapprove 45 78 13 52 53 38 52 12 37 DK/NA 11 9 9 15 8 14 12 9 12 AGE IN YRS....... INCOME............. POL PHIL......... 18-34 35-54 55+ <50 50-100 >100K Lib Mod Con Approve 51% 44% 39% 50% 39% 38% 72% 48% 19% Disapprove 38 46 48 38 53 54 19 38 72 DK/NA 11 10 12 12 8 8 9 14 8 PRES VOTE.......... WHITE............. Bush/ Kerry/ Bush/ NoColl Coll BrnAgn McCain Obama Obama Degree Degree Evngl Prot Cath Jew Approve 7% 76% 56% 43% 44% 25% 30% 40% 56% Disapprove 87 16 27 45 46 64 58 50 33 DK/NA 6 9 17 12 11 11 12 11 10
TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way the Democrats in Congress are handling their job?
Jun 4 Apr 29 Apr 01 Mar 04 2009 2009 2009 2009 Approve 43 43 40 45 Disapprove 45 46 49 45 DK/NA 11 11 11 10
4. Do you approve or disapprove of the way the Republicans in Congress are handling their job?
Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His Approve 30% 45% 21% 26% 29% 31% 29% 32% 39% Disapprove 56 42 65 59 62 51 57 53 48 DK/NA 15 13 14 15 10 18 14 15 13 AGE IN YRS....... INCOME............. POL PHIL......... 18-34 35-54 55+ <50 50-100 >100K Lib Mod Con Approve 43% 29% 24% 32% 29% 28% 26% 31% 32% Disapprove 45 57 61 53 60 61 62 53 55 DK/NA 13 14 15 16 11 10 12 16 14 PRES VOTE.......... WHITE............. Bush/ Kerry/ Bush/ NoColl Coll BrnAgn McCain Obama Obama Degree Degree Evngl Prot Cath Jew Approve 37% 18% 33% 31% 27% 30% 30% 33% 29% Disapprove 51 71 50 53 62 53 54 53 57 DK/NA 12 11 17 16 11 17 16 13 14
TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way the Republicans in Congress are handling their job?
Jun 4 Apr 29 Apr 01 Mar 04 2009 2009 2009 2009 Approve 30 27 30 30 Disapprove 56 59 59 58 DK/NA 15 14 11 11
5. Do you approve or disapprove of the way the United States Supreme Court is handling its job?
Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His Approve 62% 60% 66% 61% 64% 60% 62% 60% 61% Disapprove 22 25 20 22 22 22 21 26 21 DK/NA 16 15 14 17 13 18 17 13 18 AGE IN YRS....... INCOME............. POL PHIL......... 18-34 35-54 55+ <50 50-100 >100K Lib Mod Con Approve 59% 63% 62% 61% 65% 68% 63% 69% 54% Disapprove 26 21 21 24 22 20 24 16 29 DK/NA 15 16 17 16 14 12 14 15 17 PRES VOTE.......... WHITE............. Bush/ Kerry/ Bush/ NoColl Coll BrnAgn McCain Obama Obama Degree Degree Evngl Prot Cath Jew Approve 59% 67% 74% 59% 68% 56% 61% 71% 70% Disapprove 26 20 11 24 18 25 22 17 15 DK/NA 15 13 16 17 13 19 17 12 15
TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way the United States Supreme Court is handling its job?
APPROVE........ High Low Jun 4 Jul 17 Aug 16 May 3 Dec 7 Jun 4 Jul 17 2009 2008 2007 2007 2005 2009 2008 Approve 62 39 45 58 50 62 39 Disapprove 22 43 37 27 32 22 43 DK/NA 16 18 17 15 17 16 18
6. Do you approve or disapprove of President Obama's nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court?
Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His Approve 55% 30% 80% 53% 50% 60% 49% 85% 58% Disapprove 25 47 5 26 31 20 29 2 24 DK/NA 20 23 15 21 20 21 22 12 18 AGE IN YRS....... INCOME............. POL PHIL......... 18-34 35-54 55+ <50 50-100 >100K Lib Mod Con Approve 60% 54% 54% 59% 51% 53% 80% 64% 29% Disapprove 23 24 26 22 27 32 5 16 49 DK/NA 17 21 20 19 22 14 14 20 22 PRES VOTE.......... WHITE............. Bush/ Kerry/ Bush/ NoColl Coll BrnAgn McCain Obama Obama Degree Degree Evngl Prot Cath Jew Approve 21% 85% 73% 54% 58% 35% 43% 51% 66% Disapprove 55 3 9 25 23 41 37 26 18 DK/NA 24 12 18 21 19 24 21 23 16
7. Would you say that Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor is more liberal than you would like, not liberal enough, or about right?
Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His More liberal 30% 58% 7% 31% 36% 26% 36% 6% 25% Not liberal enough 5 3 6 5 4 5 4 5 11 About right 44 22 68 40 40 48 39 70 46 DK/NA 21 17 19 23 20 21 21 19 18 AGE IN YRS....... INCOME............. POL PHIL......... 18-34 35-54 55+ <50 50-100 >100K Lib Mod Con More liberal 26% 32% 32% 24% 36% 39% 6% 24% 58% Not liberal enough 6 5 4 6 3 4 10 2 3 About right 48 43 43 48 40 45 70 52 21 DK/NA 19 20 21 21 20 11 14 22 18 PRES VOTE.......... WHITE............. Bush/ Kerry/ Bush/ NoColl Coll BrnAgn McCain Obama Obama Degree Degree Evngl Prot Cath Jew More liberal 67% 4% 18% 30% 32% 47% 44% 36% 22% Not liberal enough 1 8 3 5 4 3 2 3 8 About right 15 72 59 43 48 29 33 40 58 DK/NA 16 16 20 22 16 22 20 21 13
8. Should Senators support or oppose Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the Supreme Court based only on whether she is qualified to be a justice, or should they also consider her views on controversial issues like abortion and affirmative action?
Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His Only qualifications 46% 33% 55% 46% 49% 43% 44% 53% 46% Consider views 44 58 34 46 42 47 46 34 46 DK/NA 10 8 11 8 9 11 9 13 8 AGE IN YRS....... INCOME............. POL PHIL......... 18-34 35-54 55+ <50 50-100 >100K Lib Mod Con Only qualifications 46% 46% 44% 42% 50% 56% 62% 49% 33% Consider views 48 45 42 46 44 41 32 43 55 DK/NA 5 9 14 12 6 3 6 8 11 PRES VOTE.......... WHITE............. Bush/ Kerry/ Bush/ NoColl Coll BrnAgn McCain Obama Obama Degree Degree Evngl Prot Cath Jew Only qualifications 34% 62% 49% 42% 54% 30% 40% 47% 56% Consider views 57 29 42 46 41 61 51 44 35 DK/NA 9 9 9 12 5 9 10 9 10
9. As you may know, Sonia Sotomayor would be the first Hispanic Supreme Court Justice. Do you think this was a very important factor in President Obama's choice of her, somewhat important, not too important, or not important at all?
Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His Very important 34 41 26 36 37 31 33 33 40 Somewhat important 35 28 41 35 34 36 36 34 33 Not too important 10 9 13 9 10 11 10 10 13 Not important 17 18 17 17 16 18 17 20 13 DK/NA 4 4 3 3 3 4 4 3 1 AGE IN YRS....... INCOME............. POL PHIL......... 18-34 35-54 55+ <50 50-100 >100K Lib Mod Con Very important 27 33 38 33 35 35 24 28 48 Somewhat important 40 38 31 34 37 38 43 40 24 Not too important 14 10 9 11 10 11 17 10 7 Not important 18 16 18 18 16 14 15 19 17 DK/NA 1 3 5 4 2 1 1 3 4 PRES VOTE.......... WHITE............. Bush/ Kerry/ Bush/ NoColl Coll BrnAgn McCain Obama Obama Degree Degree Evngl Prot Cath Jew Very important 47 23 27 34 34 39 37 36 38 Somewhat important 23 44 47 32 42 32 34 31 39 Not too important 8 14 10 11 9 8 8 13 9 Not important 18 16 14 19 12 16 16 18 8 DK/NA 4 2 3 4 3 5 5 2 6
10. Do you think making the Supreme Court look like the rest of the nation in terms of race, religion, ethnicity, and gender is more important than a justice's legal qualifications for the job, less important or about as important?
Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His More important 8% 7% 10% 8% 9% 8% 6% 15% 16% Less important 57 69 42 63 61 55 63 33 47 About as important 30 20 43 26 27 33 27 48 36 DK/NA 4 4 5 4 4 5 4 4 1 AGE IN YRS....... INCOME............. POL PHIL......... 18-34 35-54 55+ <50 50-100 >100K Lib Mod Con More important 7% 7% 11% 11% 5% 6% 8% 7% 8% Less important 57 62 53 51 62 69 45 57 69 About as important 34 28 30 33 30 24 43 33 18 DK/NA 2 3 6 4 2 2 3 3 5 PRES VOTE.......... WHITE............. Bush/ Kerry/ Bush/ NoColl Coll BrnAgn McCain Obama Obama Degree Degree Evngl Prot Cath Jew More important 7% 9% 9% 9% 7% 9% 8% 5% 17% Less important 74 44 58 56 60 61 64 64 48 About as important 16 43 31 30 31 26 24 28 26 DK/NA 3 4 2 5 3 4 4 4 9