Ketanji Jackson. Photo: h2rty (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Ketanji Brown Jackson tied as most popular Supreme Court nominee since the 1980s

by · Boing Boing

Gallup reports that Ketanji Brown Jackson is tied as the most popular Supreme Court nominee it's ever polled. 58% of Americans want the U.S. Senate to confirm her, far more than recent picks like Neil Gorsuch (45%) and Brett Kavanaugh (41%). John Roberts, at 59% before his confirmation 17 years ago, is the only "recent" candidate to perform better. The worst performing candidate in the poll's history was the comically repulsive Robert Bork (31%).

For the 12 nominees measured prior to this year, an average of 48% of Americans expressed support for them, with 29% opposed and 23% not having an opinion. Jackson's support is thus 10 percentage points above the historical norm, while the percentage without an opinion is 11 points lower. Opposition to her nomination is similar to the average.

The first black woman nominated to the Supreme Court and the most popular Supreme Court nominee in modern history, and yet it all comes down to Kirsten Sinema's origami fortune teller.