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Women's Approval of SCOTUS Matches 13-Year Low Point.

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Vincent

Byline: Justin McCarthy

Synopsis: An early September poll found 60% of U.S. men approving of the Supreme Court's handling of its duties, up from 50% last year. Meanwhile, women's ratings of the institution have dipped to 43% from 49%.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Men's and women's approval ratings of the Supreme Court diverged sharply in Gallup's annual early September update, resulting in a 17-point gender gap: 60% of men approved of the job the Supreme Court was doing at the time vs. 43% of women. By comparison, one year ago, men and women's views were nearly identical, with approval at 50% and 49%, respectively.

How women view the court is particularly relevant today as Judge Brett Kavanaugh, President Donald Trump's nominee to fill a vacancy left by the recently retired Justice Anthony Kennedy, has been accused of sexual assault by multiple women. The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee questioned Kavanaugh's first accuser yesterday, just days before the Supreme Court returns to begin its 2018-2019 term.

The gender gap in opinions of the court first emerged in a July 1-11 survey, conducted mostly before President Trump nominated Kavanaugh on July 9. The gap has expanded in the latest poll, conducted Sept. 4-12, during Kavanaugh's initial confirmation hearings -- but before sexual assault allegations against him were made public on Sept. 14, and prior to Kavanaugh's and Dr. Christine Blasey Ford's Senate testimony this week.

The latest gap between men's and women's views of the high court's performance is wider than at any point in Gallup's tracking of the measure since 2001. The data suggest the decreases in approval have been mostly among Democratic and independent women, and the increases among independent men.

Among party groups overall, the gap between Republicans' and Democrats' opinions of the Supreme Court is similar to what it was a year ago, not showing the same divergence as men's and women's views over the same time period.

Republicans remain most approving of the...

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