83% of GOP Voters Want Trump To Fill Ginsburg’s Seat

Republicans overwhelmingly want President Trump to fill Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s U.S. Supreme Court seat, but among all voters, just over half think he should leave the position vacant for the winner of the presidential election to fill.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 45% of all Likely U.S. Voters feel Trump should nominate someone to fill Ginsburg’s seat on the high court. But 51% say he should leave the position open for the winner of the 2020 presidential election. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

Eighty-three percent (83%) of Republicans think Trump should nominate someone. Just as many Democrats (84%) say that nomination should be made by the winner in November. Among voters not affiliated with either major party, 44% say Trump should nominate someone now, while 48% believe he should wait.

These findings are little changed from January when Rasmussen Reports asked voters what Trump should do if a Supreme Court vacancy opened up this year. In July 2018 when Justice Anthony Kennedy retired, 51% said the Senate should fill his vacancy as soon as possible, but 40% - and most Democrats - wanted it to wait until a new Senate was elected that November.

Democrats hope to oust Trump this November, and some have even gone so far as to suggest violence against the U.S. Senate if it moves on a Supreme Court nomination before next year.

Sixty-six percent (66%) of all voters express a favorable opinion of Ginsburg who had achieved almost iconic status among liberal voters, including 45% with a Very Favorable one. Twenty-six percent (26%) hold an unfavorable view of the late Supreme Court justice who died Friday at age 87, with 12% Very Unfavorable.

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The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted September 20, 2020 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

Trump has now edged to a one-point lead over Democratic nominee Joe Biden in the latest Rasmussen Reports’ weekly White House Watch survey. While statistically insignificant, it’s the first time Trump has been ahead.

Eighty-six percent (86%) of Democrats have a favorable opinion of Ginsburg, compared to 48% of GOP voters and 61% of unaffiliateds.

While Ginsburg is recognized as an advocate of women’s legal rights, women have only a slightly more favorable opinion of her than men do. Men are more supportive of filling her position now.

Indicative of Ginsburg’s rulings on the high court, 91% of self-identified liberals give her favorable marks, as do 78% of moderates. Only 40% of conservatives agree.

Among voters who want Ginsburg’s seat left open for the winner in November to fill, 88% view her favorably. Just 42% of those who want Trump to nominate someone now share that view.

In a survey in January, 34% of all voters rated Ginsburg as one of the best justices to ever sit on the U.S. Supreme Court. Twenty-one percent (21%) said she was one of the worst, while 31% thought she was about the same as most other justices.

Ginsburg even drew fire from her friends at The New York Times during the 2016 presidential campaign for her public criticism of then-candidate Trump. It was unprecedented for a Supreme Court justice to publicly take sides in a political campaign. Voters strongly agree that it’s bad for the high court when the justices make public political statements.

The U.S. Supreme Court continues to earn better-than-usual favorable ratings. Democrats are especially enamored with Chief Justice John Roberts, a George W. Bush appointee, who has disappointed conservatives with liberal-leaning votes this year.

Additional information from this survey and a full demographic breakdown are available to Platinum Members only.

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