A new Gallup poll finds that 54% of Americans favor the confirmation of Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court, compared to only 28% against.
This level of support is just slightly higher than the initial support for Samuel Alito, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Clarence Thomas — all of whom were confirmed — and lagging just slightly behind the initial approval of John Roberts. It is significantly ahead of the initial support for Harriet Miers and Robert Bork, whose nominations were respectively withdrawn or defeated.
Not surprisingly, Democrats favor confirmation by a 76%-6% margin, Republicans oppose it 57%-24%, and independents correspond almost exactly to the top-line numbers at 54%-27%.
