55 percent in new poll say Jackson should be confirmed

A majority of voters in a new survey said that they believe Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson should be confirmed as an associate justice on the Supreme Court.

The Monmouth University Poll published Monday found that 55 percent of the respondents said she should be confirmed, 21 percent disagreed and around 24 percent offered no opinion.

A majority also approved of President Biden’s promise to name a Black woman as his first Supreme Court nominee, with 53 percent supporting his promise and 41 percent disapproving of him making this a primary factor in his choice.

The Monmouth Poll also found that majority of the respondents — 69 percent — said that having a court that looks like the racial, ethnic and gender composition of the country is either very important or somewhat important.

Asked about if having a Black woman on the Supreme Court would have a real impact on how cases are decided, 19 percent said it would have a real impact, while 46 percent said it would have a limited impact. Around 31 percent of the respondents said it would have no impact.

The new poll comes as Jackson’s confirmation hearings are scheduled to begin on Monday at 11 a.m. and continue for four days as lawmakers scrutinize her judicial record. 

Jackson’s nomination made history when Biden announced last month she would be his pick to replace soon-to-retire Justice Stephen Breyer. If confirmed by the full Senate, Jackson will be the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court. If confirmed, the appellate court judge would also become the only former public defender to ever sit on the bench.  

However, only 47 percent of those surveyed in the new poll said they have heard enough about Jackson to feel that she is either very qualified or somewhat qualified for the position. About 43 percent said that they have not heard enough about the nominee to assess her qualifications.

This poll is also split along partisan lines. There is widespread support for Jackson’s nomination among Democrats, with 82 percent of Democrats saying she should be confirmed. Republicans tend to be opposed, but not overwhelmingly so, according to the poll findings.  Among Republicans, 42 percent say she should not be confirmed.

The Monmouth Poll surveyed 809 adults age 18 and older March 10-14, and it has a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.