Supreme Court

17% View Justice O'Connor as Conservative

Survey of 1,000 Likely Voters

July 7, 2005

Sandra Day O'Connor
Conservative	17%
Moderate	56%
Liberal	13%
RasmussenReports.com

July 8, 2005--While some Senate Democrats describe Sandra Day O'Connor as a "mainstream conservative," just 17% of voters consider the retiring Supreme Court Justice to be a conservative of any kind. Nearly as many, 13%, view her as politically liberal.

A Rasmussen Reports survey found that most Americans, 56%, see Justice O'Connor as a moderate.

Fifty-five percent (55%) of American voters have a favorable opinion of the first woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. Twenty percent (20%) have an unfavorable view.

A related story found that 42% of American voters have a favorable opinion of the Supreme Court.

The Reagan appointee draws better reviews from liberals than conservatives. Fifty-eight percent (58%) self-identified liberals have a favorable opinion of O'Connor while 15% have an unfavorable view.

Among conservatives, the numbers are 47% favorable and 30% unfavorable. Among those who describe themselves as very conservative, 39% say favorable and 39% unfavorable.

[More data below]

Fifty-seven percent (57%) of men have a favorable opinion of O'Connor along with 53% of women.

Among Democrats, 58% have a favorable view. Among Republicans, that figure is 50%.

Rasmussen Reports will issue additional data on the Supreme Court transition and nomination process in the coming days.

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This survey of 1,000 Adults was conducted by Rasmussen Reports July 7, 2005. The margin of sampling error is +/- 4.5 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence.