Marquette Law School Poll to release results of national surveys on U.S. Supreme Court, political topics: Nov. 30 and Dec. 1

Nov. 23, 2022


Marquette Law Poll LogoMILWAUKEE — The Marquette Law School Poll will release the results of its national survey of public opinion over two days, Nov. 30 – Dec. 1, via written releases and video conversations between poll director Charles Franklin and Alan Borsuk, senior fellow in law and public policy.

On Wednesday, Nov. 30, the Marquette Law School Poll will release results pertaining to public opinion about the U.S. Supreme Court. The survey looks at approval of, and confidence in, the Supreme Court and other institutions. The poll surveys opinion concerning cases currently before the Court involving the consideration of race in college admissions, whether religious views can justify a business in denying services to gay or lesbian customers, and the extent to which state legislatures can regulate federal elections independent of state court review.

Views of recent decisions on abortion and the right to possess guns outside the home are also included. Information about attention to recent decisions and knowledge of the author of the Dobbs decision in June provides insight into public awareness of the Court. This is the 11th installment in a series of nationwide Marquette Law School Poll surveys, begun in 2019, measuring public understanding and opinion of the nation’s highest court.

The second release, on Thursday, Dec. 1, will concern findings of the Marquette Law School Poll’s national survey of policy preferences and political topics. This release will examine public opinion in the wake of the midterm elections and former President Donald Trump’s announcement of candidacy for the 2024 Republican nomination for president. The survey updates favorability toward potential Republican candidates including Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. The survey also looks at opinion about potential Democratic 2024 presidential contestants, including President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. Favorability of former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama is also included.

Trial heats between Trump and DeSantis for the Republican nomination, and between Biden and Trump, and between Biden and DeSantis, are measured. A number of public policy issues are also considered, including aid to Ukraine and America’s role in the world.

Each video and written release, and corresponding data, will be available at 6 a.m. ET (5 a.m. CT) on the Marquette Law School Poll website. Embargoed written releases of these national surveys will be available to members of the media who formally register their interest in advance online and agree to stated embargo policies. Reporters who have registered for previous embargoes do not need to register again.

Interviews with Franklin following the poll’s releases are available on request by contacting Kevin Conway at kevin.m.conway@marquette.edu.

Begun in 2012, the Marquette Law School Poll is the most extensive statewide polling project in Wisconsin history. Since 2019, the Law School’s surveys of national public opinion about the U.S. Supreme Court have expanded the work of the poll both geographically and to a new set of topics of broad importance, and more recently the national survey has included political topics. Franklin has directed the poll since its inception and is a professor of law and public policy at Marquette Law School. His academic articles on partisanship, public opinion, the Supreme Court, and U.S. Senate elections have appeared in major journals and as book chapters. He is a past president of the Society for Political Methodology and an elected fellow of the society. Franklin holds a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Michigan.


About Kevin Conway

Kevin Conway

Kevin is the associate director for university communication in the Office of University Relations. Contact Kevin at (414) 288-4745 or kevin.m.conway@marquette.edu