Poll: Arizona voters split on Supreme Court confirmation hearings
Oct 12, 2020, 4:45 AM | Updated: 7:30 am
PHOENIX — Arizona voters are split on whether or not Supreme Court confirmation hearings for Judge Amy Coney Barrett should move forward as scheduled before the November election, a new poll finds.
The poll by HighGround Public Affairs shows 50% of likely Arizona voters thought the Senate Judiciary Committee should have started the hearings on Monday. Meanwhile, 48% wanted to hold off until after the November election.
When broken down by party affiliation, the survey found Arizona voters were split along party lines.
“As you can expect, roughly 89% of likely Republican voters support moving forward with this nomination,” HighGround Chief Operating Officer Douglas Cole said. “Conversely, roughly 90% of Democrats do not want to move forward with this nomination.”
The poll also surveyed independent voters and those not affiliated with a political party. It found nearly 52% side with Republicans and think the confirmation hearings should take place before the November election.
On a regional basis, the more densely populated and metropolitan areas of Maricopa County and Pima County lean toward halting the confirmation process. At the same time, the rural parts of Arizona overwhelmingly support moving forward with the confirmation.
“While it may be a homerun issue for Republican-based voters and the opposition for Democrat-based voters, we must caution both parties that it’s a double edged sword among independent and unaffiliated voters,” Cole said.
“Support or opposition to Judge Barrett’s confirmation will not have the desired effect among swing voters and only serves to divide them,” he added. “With so few undecided voters on this issue, the electorate will be watching very closely on how this confirmation process unfolds.”
The poll surveyed 400 likely voters throughout Arizona between Sept. 29 and Oct. 5. Live interviews were done through landline and cell phones. There was a 3% GOP advantage based on previous election trends.
