SHU Poll Rates Biden’s Performance, Ketanji Brown SCOTUS Appointment and Support for the CDC
Majority of Connecticut residents supported Biden’s SCOTUS choice, but feel the Court has become too politicized
A new digital poll by Sacred Heart University’s Institute for Public Policy and Civic Engagement was completed between March 24 and April 11. It asked 1,000 Connecticut residents 39 questions about a variety of national and state-specific subjects related to President Biden’s performance, the recent Supreme Court appointment, confidence in the CDC, individual support for the war in Ukraine, and the 2022 elections in Connecticut. Results for questions concerning a number of national issues appear in this survey analysis, while Connecticut-specific results are being reported separately.
When asked to rate President Joe Biden’s overall performance since he took office in January 2021, 39% of respondents rated Biden as excellent (13.4%) or good (25.6%). A higher percentage of Democrats (25.2%) rated his performance excellent compared to 3.9% of Republicans. Additionally, 42.1% of respondents ages 65 or older rated Biden as excellent (14.3%) or good (27.8%).
SCOTUS nomination, CDC and local media
More than two-fifths of Connecticut respondents indicated support of Biden’s nomination of Ketanji Brown (46.5%) as a member of the U.S. Supreme Court. Respondents ages 65 or older (56.8%) were more likely to indicate support than respondents ages 18-34 (35%).
However, the majority of Connecticut residents surveyed, 58.4%, believe the Supreme Court is too influenced by politics. Among Republicans, 63.8% expressed that belief compared to 14.7% of Democrats. Of demographic interest, a higher percentage of Tolland County residents (61.5%) indicated the Supreme Court is too influenced by politics compared to Windham County residents (35.3%).
When asked to rate trust in The Center for Disease Control (CDC) and local media, the majority of respondents were in support. More than half of Connecticut respondents (53%) reported trusting the CDC. A similar number (52.7%) indicated trust in Dr. Anthony Fauci, Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) director. And when asked to rate their confidence in local media (from a list also rating trust in federal and state government, corporations, financial institutions and national news) two-fifths of respondents said they trust local news (44.8%) or their local city/town government (43.7%).
On the same topics, a higher percentage of Democrat respondents indicated they strongly trust Dr. Fauci/NIAID when compared to Republican respondents (41.6% over 6.1%). Demographically, respondents in Hartford County were more likely to trust their local city/town government than respondents in Windham County (42.3% over 11.8%). And among the various comparisons, male respondents were more likely to indicate having “no trust” for large tech corporations when compared to female respondents (36% over 32.6%).
Additionally, when asked about the recent changes in establishing permanent Daylight Savings Time, roughly one-half of respondents, 49.7%, support Congress keeping the United States on permanent Daylight Savings Time. That number was 53.9% for respondents ages 35-44.
Support for Ukraine in words only, and Connecticut politics
The majority of Connecticut residents surveyed, 65.8%, reported they have not personally done anything to support Ukraine against Russia. However, more than one-half of respondents, 52.2%, believe the United States should do more to support Ukraine against the invasion of Russia. Among those, a higher percentage of male respondents (59.1%) reported the United States should do more to support Ukraine, compared to female respondents (45.9%). And among different regions of the state, respondents from Windham County (2.9%) were the least likely to report having personally done anything to support Ukraine against the invasion of Russia.
On the Connecticut front, the majority of respondents (80.3%) indicated they will be voting in the November 2022 elections. When asked to grade Governor Ned Lamont, Senator Richard Blumenthal and Senator Chris Murphy, more than two-fifths of respondents (46.8%) rated Lamont as excellent (14.4%) or good (32.4%). Similarly, respondents indicated excellent or good for Blumenthal (43.4%) and Murphy (43.1%).
Nearly one-half of Connecticut respondents (47.6%) indicated they would vote for Democrat Ned Lamont if the election for Governor were held today, while 29.7% would vote for Republican Bob Stefanowski. Of those queried, 83.1% of Democrats indicated they would vote for Lamont, while only 11.8% of Republican respondents reported they would vote for the incumbent.
In addition to the nationally focused results, state-specific ratings including queries on firearm purchases, parental influence in schools and youth crime are reported in the survey analysis.
“Confidence in President Biden has wavered over this past year, though his choice for a new Supreme Court justice was highly supported. Still, there is concern over the politicizing of SCOTUS,” said Steven Michels, director of the Institute for Public Policy and Civic Engagement. “Trust in Dr. Fauci, the NIAID he heads and the CDC remains high. Meanwhile, demographic breakdowns here in Connecticut reflecting age and party affiliation demonstrate a significant continuing polarity that is being mirrored across the nation and is likely to be amplified as we approach the 2022 elections.”
Actual polling was conducted on behalf of the Institute in partnership with GreatBlue Research, which administered the 39-question, Connecticut-only digital survey interviewing 1,000 residents. Statistically, this sampling represents a margin for error of +/-2.53% at a 95 percent confidence level.
Sacred Heart’s Institute for Public Policy and Civic Engagement was established in 2017 in the College of Arts & Sciences. In addition to hosting national and state-wide polls, the Institute conducts community research, hosts public forums and workshops and serves as a public-policy learning incubator for students.
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson and President Joe Biden. Photo credit: Adam Schultz for The White House (Public domain via Wikimedia Commons)