A plurality of voters in the swing states of Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania say they support President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee, Merrick Garland, and most want him to get a hearing and a vote.
In Florida, 51 percent of those asked approve of Obama’s nomination of Garland, compared to 33 percent who disapprove and 16 percent who said they were not sure, according to a new Quinnipiac University survey released Wednesday.
In Ohio, 47 percent of voters they approve of Garland, while 33 percent disapprove and 20 percent were not sure. And in Pennsylvania, 52 percent said they viewed Garland’s nomination favorably, while 29 percent said they disapproved and an additional 19 percent were unsure.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., continues to maintain that Congress will not move forward with holding a hearing on Garland or even confirming a Supreme Court nominee until after the general election.
But this sentiment does not sit well with swing state voters.
Fifty-four percent of Florida voters think the Senate should consider Garland’s nomination before the next president takes office, while 40 percent said it should not and 6 percent did not know. The sentiments were similar among voters in Ohio and Pennsylvania, as 56 percent and 58 percent, respectively, say the Senate should consider Garland’s nomination, and less than 40 percent in each state say the Senate shouldn’t consider it.
Quinnipiac released a survey Tuesday of a hypothetical general election matchup between Clinton and Trump. In Ohio, Trump led Clinton by 4 points, while Clinton was ahead by 1 point in both Florida and Pennsylvania.
The telephone survey was conducted April 27-May 8, surveying 1,051 voters in Florida, 1,042 voters in Ohio, and 1,077 voters in Pennsylvania. The margin of error for each sample is plus or minus 3 percentage points.
