Public Doesn't Trust The GOP To Nominate A New Justice

The Republicans in Congress seem convinced they will win the White House in November, and because of that, they want the next president to fill the Supreme Court vacancy created by the death of Antonin Scalia. To further that end, Republican senators have vowed to block any nominee sent them by President Obama this year.

Their problem is that, as several polls have shown, the general public thinks President Obama should submit a nominee, and the senate should seriously consider that nominee. Now another poll shows the same thing. A new Public Policy Polling survey (done on March 8th and 9th of a random national sample of 747 registered voters, with a 3.6 point margin of error) shows that 56% of Americans think the vacancy on the court should be filled this year, while only 40% want to wait until next year.

The Republicans seem to be shooting themselves in the foot again, and probably hurting their own chances to win the White House this year. And adding to this idea is the fact that most Americans simply don't trust any of the three leading Republican candidates to nominate a competent justice who will respect the Constitution.

Only 31% trust Donald Trump to nominate the next justice, while only 33% trust Cruz and 26% trust Rubio (see charts above). And that distrust is reflected in both genders, and across all age and racial groups.

If the Republicans do block Obama's nominee, that will make the selection of the next justice an issue in the current presidential campaign -- and that doesn't bode well for the Republicans.