Majorities in Michigan, Wisconsin say presidential winner should fill Supreme Court seat

Majorities in the swing states of Michigan and Wisconsin say the winner of the 2020 presidential election should fill the vacant Supreme Court seat, according to polls released Sunday.

The NBC News/Marist polls found that 54 percent of likely voters in Michigan and 56 percent of likely voters in Wisconsin said the 2020 election winner should fill the seat left empty after Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death on Sept. 18. 

The percentage of voters in both states who believe President Trump should immediately move to fill the seat remained similar in both states, with 35 percent of likely voters in Michigan and 37 percent of likely voters in Wisconsin agreeing.

Seven percent of Michigan’s likely voters and 5 percent of Wisconsin’s likely voters said Trump should fill the Court seat after the election no matter who wins.

As expected, voters’ views on what should happen with the Court seat are split among partisan lines. In both state polls, nine in 10 Democrats and about 60 percent of independents said they believed the 2020 winner should pick the nominee for the Court.

But about 80 percent of Republicans in both in Michigan and Wisconsin said the president should immediately move forward with filling the Court seat. 

Both polls were conducted before Trump officially nominated Seventh Circuit Appeals Judge Amy Coney Barrett for the Supreme Court on Saturday. 

The NBC News/Marist poll in Michigan surveyed 1,161 adults. It included 1,082 registered voters and 799 likely voters and was taken Sept. 19-23. The likely voters sample had a margin of error of 4.3 percentage points.

The poll in Wisconsin surveyed 1,131 adults, including 951 registered voters and 727 likely voters between Sept. 20 and 24. The likely voters sample had a margin of error of 4.6 percentage points. 

Ginsburg’s death has sparked a partisan battle in the Senate as Republicans have committed to moving forward with confirming Trump’s nominee. Democrats are accusing Republicans of hypocrisy because they blocked President Obama’s nominee in 2016, Merrick Garland, from getting a hearing or vote after Obama picked him for the court in March of that year.

Republicans have said the current circumstance is different because the same party holds the White House and the Senate.

Michigan and Wisconsin are both seen as key swing states in this year’s election.

In the NBC News/Marist polls, Democratic nominee Joe Biden leads Trump among likely voters by 8 percentage points in Michigan and 10 percentage points in Wisconsin. 

Michigan’s numbers are within the margin of error, while Wisconsin’s numbers are outside the margin of error.