Poll: Americans split on Kavanaugh's Supreme Court nomination

Sept. 4 (UPI) -- Americans are entirely divided on the appointment of Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court, a new poll showed Tuesday -- the same day his initial Senate confirmation hearing began.

According to the Gallup poll, 40 percent of Americans said they support Kavanahugh's appointment. Thirty-six percent oppose his taking a seat on the high court. Nearly a quarter said they have no opinion.

The split is mostly down party lines, with 72 percent of Republicans supporting the appointment, the survey by Gallup said. Of Democrats surveyed, only 17 percent said they support Kavanaugh.

The numbers are largely unchanged since President Donald Trump first nominated Kavanaugh, a federal appellate judge, to replace retiring justice Anthony Kennedy in July.

Public opinion often mirrors the approval rating of a president at the time, Gallup's data shows.

Gallup said Kavanaugh's public approval is among the lowest for any nominee since it first started tracking in 1987.

The poll results came on the same day the Senate judiciary committee began its first hearing on Kavanaugh's appointment.

Some Democrats have called for a delay in Kavanaugh's confirmation until after the November midterms, when the balance of power could shift in the Senate. To do that, Democrats are asking for more time to review documents and receive records from his time in the George W. Bush administration.

An attorney for Bush released more than 40,000 documents related to Kavanaugh's White House tenure late Monday.

Gallup surveyed more than 1,500 Americans and said the poll has a margin of error of 3 points.