Public's First Reaction to Sotomayor is Positive

May 28, 2009 10:40 AM | | Comments (0)

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Sonia Sotomayor and her mother, Celina. (Getty)

A first poll on reaction to President Obama's nomination of U.S. Circuit Court Judge Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme Court finds 47 percent of Americans rate the choice excellent or good, 20 percent call it "fair," and 13 percent said it was "poor," according to a Gallup poll conducted May 26. Twenty percent had no opinion.

Out of the favorable responses, the number saying "excellent" was 19 percent.

Fifty-two percent of Republicans called the choice only fair or poor, while 29 percent gave it positive marks. Democrats reacted positively by 72 percent to 17 percent and independents by 40 percent to 36 percent.

Gallup said there was also a "significant gender skew." Fifty-four percent of females graded the selection excellent or good compared to 42 percent of males.

The 14 point "net positive" for Sotomayor was second only in recent years to the nomination of John Roberts by former President George W. Bush in 2005. Roberts was seen as good or excellent by 51 percent and only fair or poor by 34 percent, giving him a 17 point net positive. Samuel Alito had a 4 point net positive, and Harriet Miers, whose nomination was dropped by the administration, had a 3 point net positive.

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Categories: Gallup

Tags: Democrats, Republicans, Scotus, Sotomayor

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