Poll: Americans Support Samuel Alito, Say He Won’t Overturn Abortion 
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
November 15, 2005
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — A new poll shows a plurality of Americans support the Supreme Court nomination of Samuel Alito, though a large portion have yet to make up their mind about him. Meanwhile, more people than not think he will not overturn the Roe v. Wade case that legalized abortion.
According to a poll by Princeton Survey Research Associates published in Newsweek, 40 percent of Americans say Alito should be confirmed and just 26 percent disagree.
But 34 percent still don’t know if they support Alito’s nomination to the high court.
On abortion, 29 percent say "Alito is likely to vote to overturn Roe versus Wade" while 33 percent say he won’t. A large 38 percent of those polled aren’t sure what he will do on the contentious issue.
Meanwhile, a Gallup poll reveals Americans believe the Senate should confirm Alito by more than a 2-1 margin.
Alito does not enjoy the same broad support that John Roberts initially garnered when he was named to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O’Connor back in July, but Alito’s ratings surpass those of the former nominee, Harriet Miers, according to Gallup.
Gallup showed those polled favored Alito’s nomination by a 50 to 25 percent margin and another 25 percent said they had no opinion yet.
In Gallup’s initial reading on Miers, only 44% of Americans said she should be confirmed, while 36% disagreed. Gallup’s poll on Roberts found a 59-22 percent margin in favor of his confirmation.
According to Gallup, reaction to Alito differs by party, although not overwhelmingly so. While the vast majority of Republicans (73%) favor Alito’s confirmation, fewer than half of Democrats (40%) oppose it. In fact, by a 40% to 35% margin, only a slight plurality of Democrats oppose Alito’s confirmation.
