Poll Shows Most Voters Strongly Support FBI Probe Into Kavanaugh

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A new poll shows that most voters in the United States are strongly in favor of a one-week delay in the confirmation vote for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

The Hill.TV American Barometer poll released yesterday indicates that most Americans want the FBI to have sufficient time to investigate allegations against Kavanaugh. These allegations include several sexual assault charges as well as possible perjury charges.

The survey found that 62 percent of people responding were clearly in favor of the one week delay while just 38 percent were against it. The American Barometer poll was conducted by the HarrisX polling company.

The survey also found that support for the FBI reopening its background investigation of Kavanaugh came from Americans of all races and ages.

Fifty-nine percent of Republicans oppose the delay in the Kavanaugh vote, which was no surprise since he was nominated by President Trump and is heavily favored by Republicans in Congress. Just 41 percent of respondents identifying as members of the GOP were in favor of the delay in the confirmation vote.

Seventy-eight percent of Democratic voters said they support the FBI investigation, which again was no surprise. However, 65 percent of independent voters were in favor of the probe, showing that these possible swing voters in November’s midterms prefer that the confirmation process not be rushed.

Mallory Newall, research director at Ipsos Public Affairs said Monday:

“Partisanship is the single biggest factor, the single biggest driver in your outlook on whether Brett Kavanaugh should be confirmed and also whether you believe the allegations that Christine Blasey Ford and other women have brought against him.”

The poll results also show that there is a possible division among Republican voters themselves. Those people who label themselves “strongly conservative” were strongly opposed to the delay and the investigation by a margin of 67 percent to 33 percent. On the other hand those people who say they only “lean conservative” actually support an FBI inquiry, 52 percent to 48 percent.

Sixty five percent of women in the poll support the FBI investigation and the one week delay, while 58 percent of the men surveyed were also in favor.

“Partisanship still overtakes gender, meaning that Republican women are still more akin to behave closer to or have opinions closer to Republican men than, say, Democratic women,” Newall said.

So far three women have accused Kavanaugh of sexual assault in the early 1980s, when he was a high school student and when he was in college.

Dr. Christine Ford, who testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee last week, accused Kavanaugh of pinning her to a bed and trying to remove her clothing at a party when they were both high school students.

Deborah Ramirez, through an article in the New Yorker, said that Kavanaugh exposed himself to her when they were both college students at Yale University.

A third woman, Julie Swetnick, has accused Kavanaugh of being present at a high school party where she was a victim of a “gang” rape.

Kavanaugh of course has denied all of the allegations against him and has defiantly refused to withdraw his nomination. He accused Democrats of conducting a smear campaign to keep him off the Supreme Court.

On Friday, Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), a member of the Judiciary Committee, called for a one-week delay on Kavanaugh’s full Senate vote to give the FBI time to examine the charges against the nominee. He was joined in this request by Senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine.

Fearing that the Kavanaugh nomination would fail on the floor of the Senate, President Trump on Friday directed the FBI to comply with the request of the senators.

Polls have shown that there is support for Kavanaugh‘s confirmation if the FBI is unable to find corroborating evidence against him. This has put the FBI squarely in the middle of a highly partisan fight, which is not where they want to be. However, the agency is expected to complete its investigation quickly, and the entire nation is hoping that it will do so in a fair way that is designed solely to discover the truth.

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Leo Vidal

I am a lifelong Democrat with a passion for social justice and progressive issues. I have degrees in writing, economics and law from the University of Iowa.