Most Americans Disapprove of Brett Kavanaugh’s Confirmation, New Research Shows

The Washington Post and ABC News recently joined forces to find out how Americans were responding to Brett Kavanaugh being confirmed as Supreme Court Justice after being accused of sexual assault.

As detailed in a report published on Friday, the two publications appointed Langer Research Associates to conduct a survey by phone between the dates of October 8 and 11, with a total of 11,444 people responding to the poll. After the results of the poll came in, the outlets found that it was a surprisingly close call. Out of those polled, 53 percent were in support of continuing the investigation on Kavanaugh, while 43 percent were opposed.

The researchers noted that gender played a huge part in how the surveyed would answer. For example, 47 percent of men were in support of the investigation being continued, with 49 percent in opposition. When women were questioned, 58 percent were in favor of a continued probe, with only 37 percent opposed. Forty-nine percent of women said they “strongly disapprove” of Kavanaugh’s confirmation, while 28 percent of women said that they “strongly approve.” Men were split about 50/50 in this area.

Americans were also polled on whether they felt the FBI investigation on Kavanaugh was fair. Fifty-eight percent of women said no, with 35 percent saying yes. Men were about evenly divided on the same question. When asked if the situation would influence their vote in the midterm elections, around 33 percent of those surveyed said they were more interested in voting for Democrats after Kavanaugh’s trial, while 27 percent said they would not. The rest of the people questioned said that the trial made no difference in their voting decision. The researchers documented that those who said it would make no difference were likely already Democrats, and that the study “reaffirmed vote preferences rather than altering them.”

Americans are noticing that politics are more divisive than ever, with 43 percent of those surveyed believing that rulings in the future will most likely be politically motivated. Only 10 percent believed that political motivations would play a smaller role in future trials.

Age was noted in the study as well. Seventy percent of women between ages 18 and 49 support an investigation, with 47 percent of men saying they were in favor. Regardless of gender, 61 percent of 18- to 49-year-olds said they are in favor of continuing the Kavanaugh probe, while only 38 percent of seniors felt the same way.

According to the New York Times, Representative Jerrold Nadler has promised the public an investigation if Democrats are able to gain control of the House in the election this November.

“It is not something we are eager to do,” said Nadler.

“But [with] the Senate having failed to do its proper constitutionally mandated job of advice and consent, we are going to have to do something to provide a check and balance, to protect the rule of law and to protect the legitimacy of one of our most important institutions.”