Support for Kavanaugh was already divided along party lines when the allegations became public. Since then, partisans have become even more deeply entrenched in their beliefs. As the table below indicates, Democrats have been strongly opposed to Kavanaugh since the beginning of the confirmation battle, with 45 percent believing him unqualified and 61 percent favoring rejection of his nomination on Sept. 8. At the same time, three-fourths of Republicans deemed Kavanaugh qualified and wanted him confirmed.
In the weeks since, these positions have hardened even further. In the Sept. 29 poll, the proportion of Democrats who thought Kavanaugh was unqualified rose by nearly 30 percentage points, with 83 percent of them opposing his confirmation. During the same period, Republican support for the judge’s confirmation rose to 78 percent, with 80 percent saying he was qualified for the position. In other words, the number of Republicans who found Kavanaugh “qualified” to serve on the Supreme Court increased even as Senate Democrats portrayed him as morally unfit for the job.
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At that point, a majority of independents with an opinion on the matter (64 percent) believed Kavanaugh was qualified, while a plurality thought he should be confirmed (29 percent-20 percent). However, in the three weeks since the allegations first surfaced, independent have become significantly more aware of — and more opposed to — the president’s nominee. By Sept. 22, 52 percent of them had heard “a lot” about the nomination, a number that rose to 65 percent by Sept. 29. This increased attention turned independent opinion against Kavanaugh, and as of today, those individuals firmly oppose his appointment to the court (43 percent-24 percent).