A new survey from CNN is the latest poll to show that a majority of Americans seem to favor hearings for Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland.
In the CNN/ORC survey, 64 percent of those polled believed Republican leaders should allow Garland to have confirmation hearings, and 52 percent believed Garland should be confirmed, while another 15 percent had no opinion on his confirmation.
Last month, in a similar question before Garland’s name as the nominee was announced, 66 percent of Americans polled by CNN wanted hearings for a new Justice nominee.
Another 58 percent in the CNN poll thought it would be unjustified for Garland to be denied a seat on the court, if qualified, because Republican leaders wanted the next President to choose a nominee, and 56 percent believed Garland was neither too liberal or conservative to be on the Court.
A CBS/New York Times poll earlier this week showed less support for Garland, but it was still a majority with 53 percent of those polled wanting a Senate vote on Garland’s nomination. Among Independents, 48 percent wanted a vote for Garland.
A poll from last week fielded for NBC News showed 61 percent of people felt the Senate should hold proceedings now for Garland, with 36 percent opposed.
Also, a Gallup poll from March 21 showed that a majority of Americans, 52 percent, should vote to approve Garland, while Independents, by a 44-31 percent tally, wanted the Garland nomination approved. Gallup’s data also showed the Garland’s favorability ratings were similar to other recent nominees.
Among other surveys, a Bloomberg Politics poll this week showed 62 percent of people thought it was wrong for the Senate to deny any Obama court nominee hearings. A similar Quinnipiac poll showed 62 percent of Americans believed Garland should have a hearing.
A Monmouth University poll last week showed 69 percent of people wanted the Senate to hold hearings about Garland.
And two polls taken after Justice Antonin Scalia’s passing showed that 58 percent (Pew Research) and 56 percent (CNN) wanted hearings for his replacement as nominated by President Barack Obama. A Rasmussen Reports poll in February revealed that a hearing for any Obama nominee was favored by a 53-35 percent margin.
For now, Senate Republican leaders are adamant that they believe the next President should be involved in the process of presenting a nominee to the Senate, and under the Senate’s procedural rules, they can block Garland from having public hearings in the nomination. President Obama has repeatedly asked for Garland to be offered a chance to appear at hearings and have a full Senate vote.
