Monday, July 20, 2009

Poll: Sotomayor enjoys public support


Jul 20, 2009


Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor -- whose Senate confirmation seems a foregone conclusion -- also enjoys strong support among the public, according to a new USA TODAY/Gallup Poll.

In the poll, 55% of respondents favor confirmation of Sotomayor, while 36% oppose it.

The numbers track closely with those recorded just before Sotomayor's confirmation hearings began July 13. At that time, 53% said they would vote to confirm the New York jurist, while 33% said they would not.

Sotomayor's level of support is close to that of Samuel Alito, the George W. Bush high court nominee who had support from 54% of poll respondents at this stage of the process. John Roberts, the other Supreme Court member picked by Bush, had support from 60% of respondents before his Senate confirmation.

The USA TODAY/Gallup Poll was based on 1,006 interviews with adults conducted Friday through Sunday by telephone land line and cellphone. The margin of error is 4 percentage points.

Washington Bureau Chief Susan Page will have more poll results in tomorrow's USA TODAY -- including new numbers on Obama's approval rating.

(Posted by David Jackson; photo by Robert Deutsch, USA TODAY)




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