The Nevada Poll™: Voters divided on Barrett nomination to high court

The nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to succeed the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has had a mixed effect on the enthusiasm and happiness of Nevada voters, according to new results from The Nevada Poll™ published Tuesday.

The poll, conducted by WPA Intelligence on behalf of the Review-Journal and AARP Nevada, surveyed 512 likely Nevada voters from Oct. 7-11.

When asked how President Donald Trump’s nomination of Barrett and her likely confirmation made them feel, 29 percent of respondents reported being “enthusiastic and happy” with the move. Thirteen percent said they were “satisfied but not enthusiastic,” leaving 42 percent with a positive reaction.

Twenty percent of the respondents said they were “dissatisfied but not upset” with Barrett’s nomination and likely confirmation, while 19 percent said they were “enthusiastic and upset” by the move, leaving 39 percent with a negative reaction.

Almost one-fifth of respondents, 19 percent, said they didn’t know how they felt or refused to answer.

Only 1 percent voters listed Barrett’s nomination as their most important reason for voting in 2020.

Barrett’s confirmation hearings began Monday in the Republican-controlled Senate, where she is expected to be confirmed and cement a conservative majority on the highest court in the land.

The nomination has become a major flash point for Republicans and Democrats heading into a critical, tightly matched presidential election between Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden.

Democratic senators, including Biden’s running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris, have railed against a nomination going forward so close to a presidential election. They have cited the Senate’s refusal to consider the 2016 nomination of Judge Merrick Garland by President Barack Obama as a precedent against the practice.

Republicans, now in control of the Senate and White House, have maintained the precedent is for the president to nominate in an election year and the Senate to decide the nominee’s fate. They have claimed Democrats are bent on attacking Barrett’s conservative Christian values for political gain.

Poll demographics

Surveying methods for The Nevada Poll™ were 60 percent land-line contact and 40 percent online. The margin of error is 4.4 percentage points.

Respondents’ political party affiliations more or less matched state levels at 32 percent Republican, 31 percent nonpartisan or other and 37 percent Democrat.

According to secretary of state voter registration figures, 38 percent of Nevada voters are Democrats and 32 percent are Republicans.

Thirty-five percent of voters identified as either very or somewhat conservative, with 33 percent saying they are moderate and 23 percent selecting either very or somewhat liberal.

Fifty-one percent of respondents were women and 49 percent men.

When asked their race or ethnicity, 65 percent identified as white, 13 percent Hispanic or Latino, 9 percent African American, 6 percent Asian and 5 percent other.

According to U.S. Census estimates of the 2019 population, 48 percent of Nevadans identify as white and not Latino or Hispanic, 29 percent as Latino or Hispanic, 10 percent Black or African American, 9 percent Asian and 2 percent American Indian.

The age breakdown of respondents was: 18-24 (7 percent), 25-34 (16 percent), 35-44 (17 percent), 45-54 (18 percent), 55-64 (18 percent), 65-74 (13 percent) and 75 and older (8 percent).

The household income levels of respondents were: Less than $25,000 (12 percent), $25,000 to less than $50,000 (23 percent), $50,000 to less than $75,000 (17 percent), $75,000 to less than $100,000 (12 percent), $100,000 to less than $125,000 (8 percent), $125,000 to less than $150,000 (10 percent) and more than $150,000 (9 percent).

Respondents’ education levels were: High school or less (27 percent), some college or associates degree (40 percent), bachelor’s degree (21 percent) and postgraduate degree (11 percent).

Contact Rory Appleton at rappleton@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0276. Follow @RoryDoesPhonics on Twitter.

Supreme Court pick - October 2020 poll by Las Vegas Review-Journal on Scribd

Demographics - October 2020 poll by Las Vegas Review-Journal on Scribd