New Marquette Law School Poll national survey finds Biden and Trump each supported by 50% of registered voters

Among likely voters, Biden draws support of 52%, Trump draws 48%

MILWAUKEE – A new Marquette Law School Poll national survey of registered voters finds President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump each to be the choice of 50% of registered voters. Among likely voters, Biden receives 52% and Trump 48%.

In the most recent prior Marquette Law School Poll, conducted Feb. 5-15, 2024, Trump was the choice of 51% and Biden the pick of 49% among registered voters, while Trump won 52% and Biden 48% among likely voters.

These results include voters who initially said they would vote for someone else or would not vote, but were then asked their preference if they had to choose one of the two candidates. In the initial question, 15% said they would vote for someone else or they would not vote. Trump received initial support from 44% and Biden from 42%.

Table 1 shows that Biden does best with “likely voters”—those who are registered and say they are certain they will vote. Trump has a substantial margin with those who are registered but say they are not certain if they will vote. Trump’s largest advantage is with those adults who are not registered to vote. This highlights the potential impact of voter registration and turnout efforts in the upcoming campaign. (All results in the tables are stated as percentages; the precise wording of the questions can be found in the online link noted above.)

Table 1: Vote for Biden or Trump, by registration and certainty of voting

Among adults

Registration & certainty of votingVote choice
Donald TrumpJoe Biden
Registered & certain to vote4852
Registered but not certain to vote5644
Not registered6436
Marquette Law School Poll, national survey, March 18-28, 2024
Question: If the 2024 election for president were held today between former President Donald Trump, the Republican, and President Joe Biden, the Democrat, would you vote for Donald Trump or for Joe Biden?
Question: If you had to choose, would you vote for Biden or for Trump?
Question: Are you registered to vote at your present address, or not?
Question: What are the chances that you will vote in the November 2024 general election for president, Congress, and other offices — are you absolutely certain to vote, very likely to vote, are the chances 50-50, or don’t you think you will vote?

The survey was conducted March 18-28, 2024, interviewing 868 registered voters nationwide, with a margin of error of +/-4.3 percentage points. For likely voters, the sample size was 674, with a margin of error of +/-4.9 percentage points. The sample size for all adults was 1,000, with a margin of error of +/-4 percentage points.

The Marquette Law School Poll’s national surveys have seen a close race between Trump and Biden among registered voters since May 2023, with the trend shown in Table 2.

Table 2: Presidential vote choice, Biden v. Trump, national surveys, May 2023–March 2024

Among registered voters

Poll datesVote
Donald TrumpJoe Biden
3/18-28/245050
2/5-15/245149
11/2-7/235248
9/18-25/235148
7/7-12/235050
5/8-18/235247
Marquette Law School Poll, national surveys, latest March 18-28, 2024
Question: If the 2024 election for president were held today between former President Donald Trump, the Republican, and President Joe Biden, the Democrat, would you vote for Donald Trump or for Joe Biden?
Question: If you had to choose, would you vote for Trump or for Biden?

Table 3 shows the Biden vs. Trump results by party identification in February and March national surveys. Trump’s support among Republicans slipped by 5 percentage points from February to March, while Biden’s support among Democrats rose by 2 percentage points. In March, a majority of independents said they would vote for Biden, reversing Trump’s advantage with independents in February.

Table 3: Vote for Biden or Trump, by party identification

Among registered voters

Party IDVote choice
Donald TrumpJoe Biden
3/18-28/24
Republican8812
Independent4653
Democrat793
2/5-15/24
Republican937
Independent5443
Democrat991
Marquette Law School Poll, national surveys, Feb. 5-15, 2024, and March 18-28, 2024
Question: If the 2024 election for president were held today between former President Donald Trump, the Republican, and President Joe Biden, the Democrat, would you vote for Donald Trump or for Joe Biden?
Question: If you had to choose, would you vote for Biden or for Trump?

Among likely voters, the trend in vote choice is shown in Table 4. The likely-voter measure was not included before September.

Table 4: Presidential vote choice, Biden v. Trump, Sept. 2023–March 2024

Among likely voters

Poll datesVote
Donald TrumpJoe Biden
3/18-28/244852
2/5-15/245248
11/2-7/235149
9/18-25/234951
Marquette Law School Poll, national surveys, latest March 18-28, 2024
Question: If the 2024 election for president were held today between former President Donald Trump, the Republican, and President Joe Biden, the Democrat, would you vote for Donald Trump or for Joe Biden?
Question: If you had to choose, would you vote for Trump or for Biden?

Five-way race

When the ballot question is expanded to include independent candidates Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Cornel West and Green Party candidate Jill Stein, Trump receives 41% and Biden 38%. Kennedy is supported by 14%, West wins 5%, and Stein is the choice of 2%.

The national trend in the five-way race is shown in Table 5.

Table 5: Five-candidate ballot choice, Feb-March 2024

Among registered voters

Poll datesVote
BidenTrumpKennedyWestStein
3/18-28/2438411452
2/5-15/2439421532
Marquette Law School Poll, national surveys, latest March 18-28, 2024
Question: If the presidential ballot included additional candidates, would you vote for Democrat Joe Biden, Republican Donald Trump, independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr., independent Cornel West, or the Green Party’s Jill Stein?

The five-way vote by party is shown in Table 6. The additional candidates draw partisan support away from both Trump and Biden. Trump holds 77% support from Republicans, and Biden 76% support from Democrats. Kennedy draws 12% equally from both Republicans and Democrats, while West does one point better with Republicans. Stein takes 4% from Democrats but wins no Republican support. Independent voters are widely spread across the candidates, with the independent and third-party candidates doing much better with independents than with partisans. Trump and Biden both win 20% from independents, while Kennedy takes 37%, West 15%, and Stein 7%.

Table 6: Five-candidate ballot, by party identification

Among registered voters

Party IDVote choice
BidenTrumpKennedyWestStein
3/18-28/24
Republican7771240
Independent202037157
Democrat7651234
2/5-15/24
Republican4801501
Independent183429134
Democrat7851242
Marquette Law School Poll, national surveys, latest March 18-28, 2024
Question: If the presidential ballot included additional candidates, would you vote for Democrat Joe Biden, Republican Donald Trump, independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr., independent Cornel West, or the Green Party’s Jill Stein?

Favorability

All the candidates, as well as Vice President Kamala Harris, have a net negative favorability rating, as shown in Table 7, with more unfavorable than favorable ratings. The independent candidates, Kennedy and West, have high rates of “haven’t heard enough.” Harris has the highest net negative favorability rating at -25, with Biden at -20 and Trump at -13. Favorability to Stein was not included in this survey.

Table 7: Favorability ratings

Among registered voters

CandidateFavorability
Net favorableFavorableUnfavorableHaven’t heard enough
Kamala Harris-2535605
Joe Biden-2040601
Donald Trump-1343561
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.-9303930
Cornel West-6121870
Marquette Law School Poll, national survey, March 18-28, 2024
Question: Do you have a favorable or an unfavorable opinion of the following people or haven’t you heard enough yet to have an opinion?

Biden’s favorability rating over time is shown in Table 8. Biden’s net favorability has fallen from -5 in November 2021 to -20 in the current survey; it is little changed in the past year.

Table 8: Biden favorability trend

Among registered voters

Poll datesFavorability
Net favorableFavorableUnfavorableHaven’t heard enough
3/18-28/24-2040601
2/5-15/24-2040601
11/2-7/23-1940591
9/18-25/23-2139601
7/7-12/23-1741581
5/8-18/23-2337603
3/13-22/23-1541563
1/9-20/23-1143542
11/15-22/22-646523
9/7-14/22-944532
7/5-12/22-2635613
5/9-19/22-1740573
3/14-24/22-1044542
1/10-21/22-646523
11/1-10/21-545505
Marquette Law School Poll, national surveys, latest March 18-28, 2024
Question: Do you have a favorable or an unfavorable opinion of the following people or haven’t you heard enough yet to have an opinion?

The favorability trend for Trump is shown in Table 9. Trump’s net favorability has improved from -34 in November 2021 to -13 in the current poll, although it is 4 points more negative than in February.

Table 9: Trump favorability trend

Among registered voters

Poll datesFavorability
Net favorableFavorableUnfavorableHaven’t heard enough
3/18-28/24-1343561
2/5-15/24-945541
11/2-7/23-1542572
9/18-25/23-1542571
7/7-12/23-2835632
5/8-18/23-2138592
3/13-22/23-2934632
1/9-20/23-2636622
11/15-22/22-3631671
9/7-14/22-3034642
7/5-12/22-2735623
5/9-19/22-2337602
3/14-24/22-2238602
1/10-21/22-3731681
11/1-10/21-3432662
Marquette Law School Poll, national surveys, latest March 18-28, 2024
Question: Do you have a favorable or an unfavorable opinion of the following people or haven’t you heard enough yet to have an opinion?

For Biden and Trump, 19% of respondents are unfavorable to both candidates. The percentage of those unfavorable to both has remained near 20% since November 2021. The trend for favorability to both Biden and Trump is shown in Table 10. Biden had an advantage in favorability over Trump in most of the early polling, but Trump has held the advantage over the last four polls.

Table 10: Favorability to Biden and Trump, Nov. 2021–March 2024

Among registered voters

Poll datesFavorability to both
Fav Biden, Fav TrumpFav Biden, Unfav TrumpUnfav Biden, Fav TrumpUnfav Biden, Unfav TrumpDK either
3/18-28/2433740191
2/5-15/2423742171
11/2-7/2333638202
9/18-25/2333639202
7/7-12/2313933233
5/8-18/2323536235
3/13-22/2323932235
1/9-20/2314234194
11/15-22/2214430214
9/7-14/2214332213
7/5-12/2203534265
5/9-19/2213936204
3/14-24/2224135183
1/10-21/2224429224
11/1-10/2114330206
Marquette Law School Poll, national surveys, latest March 18-28, 2024
Question: Do you have a favorable or an unfavorable opinion of the following people or haven’t you heard enough yet to have an opinion?

Those who are unfavorable to both have varied in their vote choices over recent polls, as shown in Table 11. In the current poll, those unfavorable to both support Biden by 59% to 41% for Trump, while in February Biden got 63% and Trump 36%. However, in November 2023, those unfavorable to both supported Trump 52% to 48% for Biden. (The sample size of those favorable to both Biden and Trump is too small for meaningful analysis and thus is not included in the table.)

Table 11: Biden vs. Trump vote, by favorability to both

Among registered voters

Favorability to Biden and TrumpVote
Donald TrumpJoe Biden
3/18-28/24
Fav Biden, Unfav Trump0100
Unfav Biden, Fav Trump1000
Unfav Biden, Unfav Trump4159
2/5-15/24
Fav Biden, Unfav Trump298
Unfav Biden, Fav Trump1000
Unfav Biden, Unfav Trump3663
11/2-7/23
Fav Biden, Unfav Trump298
Unfav Biden, Fav Trump991
Unfav Biden, Unfav Trump5248
Marquette Law School Poll, national surveys, latest March 18-28, 2024
Question: If the 2024 election for president were held today between former President Donald Trump, the Republican, and President Joe Biden, the Democrat, would you vote for Donald Trump or for Joe Biden?
Question: If you had to choose, would you vote for Biden or for Trump?
Question: Do you have a favorable or an unfavorable opinion of the following people or haven’t you heard enough yet to have an opinion?

Presidential approval

Biden’s job approval in March was 40%, with 60% disapproving—a slight improvement from February’s 38% approval and 62% disapproval.

Asked if they approved or disapproved of how Trump handled his job when he was president, 47% approved and 53% disapproved. This the first time the retrospective approval of Trump has been asked.

A strength of Biden, despite his high disapproval rating, has been his ability to win votes from those who “somewhat disapprove” of how he has handled his job as president, typically winning a small majority of this group of voters. Table 12 shows how voters choose to vote for Biden or Trump by strength of approval or disapproval of Biden’s job performance. Biden wins large percentages of both categories of approval, while Trump dominates the strongly-disapproving voters. Biden wins 61% for those somewhat disapproving of his job performance, while Trump is favored by 39% of those. In February, Biden took 60% to Trump’s 40% among the somewhat disapproving. Biden’s share among those who somewhat disapprove was slightly lower, 55%, in November.

Table 12: Biden vs. Trump vote, by Biden job approval

Among registered voters

Biden job approvalVote
Donald TrumpJoe Biden
3/18-28/24
Strongly approve199
Somewhat approve694
Somewhat disapprove3961
Strongly disapprove928
2/5-15/24
Strongly approve298
Somewhat approve991
Somewhat disapprove4060
Strongly disapprove954
11/2-7/23
Strongly approve397
Somewhat approve991
Somewhat disapprove4555
Strongly disapprove946
Marquette Law School Poll, national surveys, latest March 18-28, 2024
Question: If the 2024 election for president were held today between former President Donald Trump, the Republican, and President Joe Biden, the Democrat, would you vote for Donald Trump or for Joe Biden?
Question: If you had to choose, would you vote for Biden or for Trump?
Question: Overall, do you approve or disapprove of the way Joe Biden is handling his job as president?

Perceptions of Biden and Trump

Table 13 shows which candidate is thought to do a better job on seven issues. Trump is seen as better on immigration and border security, the economy, the Israel-Hamas war, and, to a lesser degree, foreign relations. Biden is seen as better on abortion policy and health care. Slightly more see him as better than Biden on handling Medicare and Social Security, as well. These views of the candidates have remained quite stable over the last three polls.

The percentage say that neither candidate would be good on an issue, or they would both be about the same, ranges from 18% to 26%, an indication that even with two such well-known candidates, there remains considerable uncertainty over how successfully each would handle these issues.

Table 13: Who would handle issues better

Registered voters

 Who better on issue
Poll datesBidenTrumpBoth about the sameNeither good
Immigration and border security
3/18-28/242754712
2/5-15/242553615
11/2-7/232750716
The economy
3/18-28/24325199
2/5-15/243252710
11/2-7/233051711
Handling the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza
3/18-28/243242917
2/5-15/2428431118
11/2-7/2331421116
Foreign relations
3/18-28/243941812
2/5-15/243744712
11/2-7/233844711
Medicare & Social Security
3/18-28/2439361411
2/5-15/2440361311
11/2-7/2338391112
Health care
3/18-28/2440341313
2/5-15/2442341311
Abortion policy
3/18-28/2442331015
2/5-15/2442341112
11/2-7/2341341014
Marquette Law School Poll, national surveys, latest March 18-28, 2024
Question: Do you think Joe Biden or Donald Trump would do a better job handling each of the following issues?
Healthcare not asked in November

Table 14 shows how well various phrases describe Biden and Trump. Biden, particularly, is seen as too old to be president, with 55% saying this describes him very well. For Trump, 23% say he is too old to be president.

On “shares your values,” more say this describes Trump very well than Biden, but more also say this describes Trump not at all well than say the same of Biden.

Corruption assertions have been leveled against both candidates; 29% say “has behaved corruptly” describes Biden very well, and 42% say the same for Trump.

On having a strong record of accomplishment as president, 17% say this describes Biden very well, while 28% say this describes Trump very well.

“Has the right temperament to be president” is seen as describing Biden very well by 24% and as describing Trump very well by 15%.

Table 14: How well does this phrase describe Biden or Trump

Among registered voters

IssueHow well phrase describes
Very wellSomewhat wellNot too wellNot at all well
Is too old to be president
Biden55221310
Trump23292622
Shares your values
Biden15281839
Trump17281243
Has behaved corruptly
Biden29182330
Trump42211919
Strong record of accomplishments as president
Biden17242038
Trump28231930
Has the right temperament to be president
Biden24271633
Trump15211747
Marquette Law School Poll, national survey, March 18-28, 2024
Question: How well does each of the following phrases describe (Joe Biden)(Donald Trump)?

Undocumented-immigrant policy

On the issue of illegal immigration and border control, 47% strongly agree with the statement, “The Biden administration’s border policies have created a crisis of uncontrolled illegal migration into the country.” An additional 22% somewhat agree. Fifteen percent strongly disagree with the statement, and 16% somewhat disagree.

Thirty-six percent strongly favor “deporting immigrants who are living in the United States illegally back to their home countries,” with 26% who somewhat favor that. Twelve percent strongly oppose deportations and 25% somewhat oppose.

Views of deportation are somewhat different when people were asked a question focused on how to deal with undocumented immigrants already in the country. Two versions of this question were asked, each to a random half of the sample. One question asked about undocumented immigrants “currently working” in the U.S. and one asking about undocumented immigrants “currently living” in the U.S.

The questions are:

  • Which comes closest to your view about undocumented immigrants who are currently working in the U.S.?
  • They should be allowed to stay in their jobs and to eventually apply for U.S. citizenship
  • They should be allowed to stay in their jobs only as temporary guest workers but not to apply for U.S. citizenship
  • They should be required to leave their jobs and leave the U.S.

The alternate wording is:

  • Which comes closest to your view about undocumented immigrants who are currently living in the U.S.?
  • They should be allowed to stay in the U.S. and to eventually apply for U.S. citizenship
  • They should be allowed to stay in the U.S. temporarily but not to apply for U.S. citizenship
  • They should be required to leave the U.S.

The results are shown in Table 15.

Table 15: Undocumented immigrant policy, by question wording

Among registered voters

Question wordingUndocumented immigrant policy
Stay & apply for citizenshipStay temporarily, no citizenshipRequired to leave U.S.
Working in U.S.412534
Living in U.S.471142
Marquette Law School Poll, national survey, March 18-28, 2024
Question: Which comes closest to your view about undocumented immigrants who are currently working in the U.S.?
Question: Which comes closest to your view about undocumented immigrants who are currently living in the U.S.?

As compared to the question that asks simply about those “living in the U.S.,” mention of “working in the U.S.” increases support for a middle sort of approach—a temporary-guest-worker option—while lowering support for both the options of a path to citizenship and of requiring undocumented immigrants to leave the U.S. In either question, substantially fewer respondents say undocumented immigrants should be required to leave the country than in the earlier-discussed question where 62% strongly or somewhat favor “deporting immigrants who are living in the United States illegally back to their home countries.”

Attention to topics in the news

Of recent events in the news, 59% said they had heard a lot about a New York court’s decision finding Trump liable for conspiring to manipulate his net worth and ordering him to pay a penalty of nearly $355 million plus interest, 28% had heard a little, and 12% had heard nothing at all.

Thirty-eight percent had heard a lot about Biden’s recent State of the Union address, while 44% heard a little and 18% heard nothing at all.

Considerably fewer, 23%, heard a lot about Sen. Katie Britt’s Republican response to the State of the Union, while 33% heard a little and 44% heard nothing at all.

The results of the Super Tuesday presidential primaries drew 33% who said they heard a lot, 45% who heard a little, and 22% who heard nothing.

Respondents are more likely to say they have paid a lot of attention to news about inflation than to news about unemployment. The survey asks about the latest estimates of the Consumer Price Index and the unemployment rate for the most recent month available at the time of the survey, February in this case. Table 16 shows attention paid to this news for inflation and for unemployment.

Table 16: How much heard about economic news

Registered voters

 How much heard or read
IssueA lotA littleNothing at all
Inflation rate434611
Unemployment rate225325
Marquette Law School Poll, national survey, March 18-28, 2024
Question: Here are some recent topics in the news. How much have you heard or read about each of these? News reports that consumer prices (inflation) rose by 3.2% over the past 12 months (as of February)
Question: Here are some recent topics in the news. How much have you heard or read about each of these? News reports that the unemployment rate was 3.9% (as of February)

Economic perceptions

Views of the nation’s economy have improved somewhat since September, though more say it is not so good or poor than say it is excellent or good. Table 17 shows the trend over the past four polls, with a dip in positive views and rise in negative views in the March survey.

Table 17: View of the national economy

Among registered voters

Poll datesView of the economy
ExcellentGoodNot so goodPoor
3/18-28/245283829
2/5-15/246294025
11/2-7/233244033
9/18-25/233204532
Marquette Law School Poll, national surveys, latest March 18-28, 2024
Question: How would you describe the state of the nation’s economy these days?

Republicans and independents are quite negative and Democrats considerably more positive about the economy. Table 18 shows opinion of the economy overall and by party identification.

Table 18: View of the national economy by party identification

Among registered voters

Party IDView of the economy
ExcellentGoodNot so goodPoor
Total5283829
Republican1134542
Independent1194436
Democrat11463112
Marquette Law School Poll, national survey, March 18-28, 2024
Question: How would you describe the state of the nation’s economy these days?

Asked about their personal financial situation, in March 46% said they are living comfortably, 38% are just getting by, and 16% say they are struggling. That is a small increase in those saying they are living comfortably, compared to February when 42% said they were living comfortably, 41% were just getting by, and 17% said they were struggling.

International issues

Forty-seven percent say Biden has been working to negotiate a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, while 25% say he has not and 28% say they don’t know.

Those saying the U.S. is giving too much support to Israel declined slightly, to 37% from 41% in February, while those saying not enough aid is being given rose to 24% from 21%. Those saying about the right amount of support is being given barely changed: 39% in March from 38% in February.

Those saying not enough support is being given to Ukraine rose to 32% from 27% in February, while those saying too much aid is being given to Ukraine dipped one percentage point to 36% from 37%. Those saying the right amount of aid is being given declined to 32% from 37% in February.

Abortion

Preferences over abortion policy have changed little in polling since May 2022, with 70% saying abortion should be legal in all or most cases and 30% saying it should be illegal in all or most cases. Table 19 shows the full trend on these preferences.

Table 19: Abortion policy preference trend

Among registered voters

Poll datesPolicy preference
Legal in all casesLegal in most casesIllegal in most casesIllegal in all cases
3/18-28/243139246
2/5-15/243040246
11/2-7/232838259
9/18-25/233336256
7/7-12/232936296
5/8-18/233236266
3/13-22/232836296
1/9-20/232638297
11/15-22/223137248
9/7-14/223235276
7/5-12/222935288
5/9-19/222937258
Marquette Law School Poll, national surveys, latest March 18-28, 2024
Question: Do you think abortion should be legal in all cases, legal in most cases, illegal in most cases, or illegal in all cases?

About the Marquette Law School Poll

The survey was conducted March18-28, 2024, interviewing 868 registered voters nationwide, with a margin of error of +/-4.3 percentage points. For likely voters, the sample size is 674, with a margin of error is +/-4.9 percentage points. The sample of all adults is 1,000, with a margin of error of +/-4 percentage points.

Interviews were conducted using the SSRS Opinion Panel, a national probability sample, with interviews conducted online. Certain other data from this survey (focusing on public views of the Supreme Court) were released yesterday, on April 3. The detailed methodology statement, survey instrument, topline results, and crosstabs for this release are available on the Marquette Law School Poll website.

New Marquette Law School Poll national survey finds upturn in approval of U.S. Supreme Court 

Majorities support the Court’s decision that states cannot remove Trump from the ballot and oppose a possible Court ruling that would restrict abortion medication drug mifepristone

MILWAUKEE – A new Marquette Law School Poll national survey finds that 47% of adults approve of the job the U.S. Supreme Court is doing, while 53% disapprove. This is the highest approval of the Court since January 2023, when it was also 47% with 53% disapproving. The last time approval was greater than 50% was March 2022, when it was 54%.

In the most recent previous survey, in February 2024, 40% approved and 60% disapproved.

The trend in approval since 2020 is shown in Figure 1 and Table 1. (All results in the tables are stated as percentages; the precise wording of the questions can be found in the online link noted above.)

line plot showing approval of the us supreme court over time

Table 1: U.S. Supreme Court approval

Among adults

Poll datesApproval
ApproveDisapprove
3/18-28/244753
2/5-15/244060
11/2-7/234159
9/18-25/234357
7/7-12/234555
5/8-18/234159
3/13-22/234456
1/9-20/234753
11/15-22/224456
9/7-14/224060
7/5-12/223861
5/9-19/224455
3/14-24/225445
1/10-21/225246
11/1-10/215446
9/7-16/214950
7/16-26/216039
9/8-15/206633
Marquette Law School Poll, national surveys, latest March 18-28, 2024
Question: Overall, how much do you approve or disapprove of the way the U.S. Supreme Court is handling its job?

In the latest poll, approval rose by 10 percentage points among independents, by 7 points among Republicans, and by 4 points among Democrats. Approval by party is shown in Table 2. (Party identification here and subsequently includes independents who lean to a party as partisans.)

Table 2: Approval of the U.S. Supreme Court, by party identification, February and March 2024

Among adults

Poll datesCourt approval
ApproveDisapprove
3/18-28/24
Republican6436
Independent3862
Democrat3169
2/5-15/24
Republican5743
Independent2872
Democrat2773
Marquette Law School Poll, national surveys, Feb. 5-15, 2024, and March 18-28, 2024
Question: Overall, how much do you approve or disapprove of the way the U.S. Supreme Court is handling its job?
 

The latest Marquette Law School Poll national Supreme Court survey was conducted March 18-28, 2024. The survey interviewed 1,000 adults nationwide and has a margin of error of +/-4 percentage points.

Cases before the Court

On March 4, the Court ruled that states cannot remove or ban former President Donald Trump from the ballot based on the 14th Amendment’s insurrection clause. The Court was unanimous in the judgment, though divided on the reasoning. A majority of respondents, 56%, favored the Court’s decision, while 39% opposed it and 5% did not know.

To test if unanimity influenced public reaction, a random half of the respondents were asked a question that included “ruled unanimously” and half asked a version that omitted “unanimously.” The wording was:

“On March 4, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled (unanimously) that states cannot bar Donald Trump from election ballots based on the 14th Amendment’s insurrection clause. How much do you favor or oppose this decision?”

The version with “unanimously” had a slightly higher percentage favoring the Court’s decision (3% more), but also saw a higher level of those opposed (6% more), as the percentage saying “don’t know” was 0%, as opposed to 9% in the other version, as shown in Table 3. A majority favored the Court’s ruling, whether the word “unanimously” was included in the question or not.

Table 3: States cannot ban Trump from ballot, by “unanimously” mentioned or not

Among adults

 Favor or oppose decision
Unanimously mentioned or notFavorOpposeDon’t know
Unanimously mentioned58420
Unanimously not mentioned55369
Marquette Law School Poll, national survey, March 18-28, 2024
Question: On March 4, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously that states cannot bar Donald Trump from election ballots based on the 14th Amendment’s insurrection clause. How much do you favor or oppose this decision?
Question: On March 4, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states cannot bar Donald Trump from election ballots based on the 14th Amendment’s insurrection clause. How much do you favor or oppose this decision?

Because the differences are small, we combine the two wordings for an overall measure of approval of this decision. A large majority of Republicans favored the decision, as did a bare majority of independents. Just more than two-thirds of Democrats opposed the decision, as shown in Table 4.

Table 4: States cannot ban Trump from ballot, by party identification

Among adults

Party IDFavor or oppose Court’s decision
FavorOpposeDon’t know
Total56395
Republican87112
Independent50419
Democrat26696
Marquette Law School Poll, national survey, March 18-28, 2024
Question: On March 4, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled (unanimously) that states cannot bar Donald Trump from election ballots based on the 14th Amendment’s insurrection clause. How much do you favor or oppose this decision?
Combined percentage from questions mentioning ‘unanimously’ and not mentioning it.

On March 26, the Court heard oral arguments on a lower court decision which would restrict access to mifepristone, a drug used in medication abortions. Sixty percent of people in this survey preferred that the Court keep the current access to the drug by overturning the lower court ruling, while 25% preferred that the Court uphold the lower court ruling and 15% said they don’t know. Views on this issue differed by party, as shown in Table 5. Republicans were nearly evenly divided, while more independents and many more Democrats favored maintaining current access to the drug. Substantial percentages in each partisan group, especially independents, said they did not know.

Table 5: Restrict access to mifepristone, by party identification

Among adults

Party IDPreference
The Court should rule to keep the current access to the medication abortion drug, thus overturning the lower court decisionThe Court should rule that the lower court was correct in its decision, thus restricting access to the medication abortion drugDon’t know
Total602515
Republican434116
Independent491833
Democrat81910
Marquette Law School Poll, national survey, March 18-28, 2024
Question: The U.S. Supreme Court is reviewing a lower court decision that would significantly restrict (but not eliminate altogether) access to a drug used in medication abortions, mifepristone. Which comes closer to your view?
Response option: The Court should rule to keep the current access to the medication abortion drug, thus overturning the lower court decision
Response option: The Court should rule that the lower court was correct in its decision, thus restricting access to the medication abortion drug

The Court has set April 25 for oral arguments on whether former presidents enjoy immunity from criminal prosecution for conduct alleged to involve official acts during their tenure in office, a case arising from prosecutions of Trump involving the 2020 election and Jan. 6, 2021, events at the U.S. Capitol.

Our national survey asked about presidential immunity in a randomized experiment. Half of respondents were asked if “former presidents” should have immunity, and half were asked if “former President Donald Trump” should have immunity. Of those asked about “former presidents,” 20% said former presidents should have immunity, while 62% said they should not. Of those asked about “former President Donald Trump,” 28% said he should have immunity, while 56% said he should not. Eighteen percent of those asked the “former presidents” question said they “don’t know,” as did 17% of those asked the “former President Donald Trump” question. Those are notably high rates of “don’t know” responses given the volume of news coverage of the former president’s court cases. These results are shown in Table 6.

Table 6: Presidential immunity, by question wording

Among adults

Question wordingImmunity opinion
Should be immune from criminal prosecution for their official actsShould not have immunity from criminal prosecution for their official actsDon’t know
“Former presidents” wording206218
“Former President Donald Trump” wording285617
Marquette Law School Poll, national survey, March 18-28, 2024
Question: The U.S. Supreme Court is considering a case concerning whether former presidents have immunity from criminal prosecution for official actions while in office. Which comes closer to your view?
Question: The U.S. Supreme Court is considering a case concerning whether former President Donald Trump has immunity from criminal prosecution for official actions while president. Which comes closer to your view?

The difference in responses is largely due to Republicans who, on balance, oppose immunity for “former presidents” but shift to over half supporting immunity for Trump. The results by question wording and party identification are shown in Table 7. Republican support for immunity goes from 32% for “former presidents” to 55% for “former President Donald Trump,” while the number of those Republicans opposed to immunity moves from 49% for ”former presidents” to 27% for “former President Donald Trump.” The percent saying “don’t know” remains substantial in both wording half-samples, at nearly one-in-five. Shifts among independents and Democrats are quite small between the two question wordings, with support for immunity decreasing by 3 percentage points among independents and by 5 percentage points among Democrats when Trump is named.

Table 7: Presidential immunity, by question wording and party identification

Among adults

Party IDImmunity opinion
Should be immune from criminal prosecution for their official actsShould not have immunity from criminal prosecution for their official actsDon’t know
Former presidents wording
Republican324919
Independent144640
Democrat98110
Former President Donald Trump wording
Republican552718
Independent114445
Democrat4897
Marquette Law School Poll, national survey, March 18-28, 2024
Question: The U.S. Supreme Court is considering a case concerning whether former presidents have immunity from criminal prosecution for official actions while in office. Which comes closer to your view?
Question: The U.S. Supreme Court is considering a case concerning whether former President Donald Trump has immunity from criminal prosecution for official actions while president. Which comes closer to your view?

On Feb. 26, the Court heard arguments in two cases dealing with how much social media companies can control the content that users posting on the companies’ sites as well as the extent to which governments can regulate those decisions. We asked this question:

“The U.S. Supreme Court is considering a case concerning laws that regulate how large social media companies like Facebook and YouTube control content posted on their sites. Which comes closer to your view? 1. The Court should rule that the companies have a First Amendment right to make decisions about what content may be presented on their sites. 2. The Court should rule that the companies cannot decide what views users may express on the sites.”

A plurality, 46%, say social media companies have a right to make decisions regarding content on their sites, while 38% say they should not be able to restrict content and 16% say they don’t know.

Opinion on social media restrictions varies by political ideology, with conservatives more opposed to social media company control over content and liberals more in favor of such control by social media companies, as shown in Table 8.

Table 8: Social media restrictions, by political ideology

Among adults

 Preference
Political ideologyCompanies can control contentCompanies cannot control contentDon’t know
Total463816
Conservative355113
Moderate493616
Liberal592219
Marquette Law School Poll, national survey, March 18-28, 2024
Question: The U.S. Supreme Court is considering a case concerning laws that regulate how large social media companies like Facebook and YouTube control content posted on their sites. Which comes closer to your view?
Response option: The Court should rule that the companies have a First Amendment right to make decisions about what content may be presented on their sites
Response option: The Court should rule that the companies cannot decide what views users may express on the sites

Those who are the heaviest users of the internet, saying they are “almost constantly” online, are more supportive of restrictions by social media companies and less likely to say they don’t know. Those who use the internet less often are less in favor of restrictions by social media companies but are much more likely to lack an opinion. Opposition to social media restrictions varies little by frequency of use of the internet, as shown in Table 9.

Table 9: Restrictions by social media companies, by internet use

Among adults

Internet usePreference
Companies can control contentCompanies cannot control contentDon’t know
Total463816
Almost constantly513811
Several times a day443918
Once a day or less373528
Marquette Law School Poll, national survey, March 18-28, 2024
Question: The U.S. Supreme Court is considering a case concerning laws that regulate how large social media companies like Facebook and YouTube control content posted on their sites. Which comes closer to your view?
Response option: The Court should rule that the companies have a First Amendment right to make decisions about what content may be presented on their sites
Response option: The Court should rule that the companies cannot decide what views users may express on the sites

On Nov. 7, the Court heard arguments as to whether a federal law that prohibits the possession of a firearm by persons subject to a domestic violence restraining order violates the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.

We asked:

“The U.S. Supreme Court is considering a case concerning the constitutionality of a federal law that prohibits people subject to domestic violence restraining orders from possessing firearms. Which comes closer to your view? 1. The Court should uphold the law prohibiting gun possession by those subject to restraining orders. 2. The Court should strike down the law as a violation of the Second Amendment right to bear arms.”

A substantial majority, 72%, say the Court should uphold the federal law, while 17% say the Court should strike down the law in favor of the right to bear arms and 11% say they don’t know.

On this issue, more than 60% of Republicans and independents say the Court should uphold the law, as do 83% of Democrats, as shown in Table 10.

Table 10: Law prohibiting firearm possession, by party identification

Among adults

Party IDPreference
Uphold law prohibiting firearm possessionStrike down law prohibiting firearm possessionDon’t know
Total721711
Republican632512
Independent671122
Democrat8398
Marquette Law School Poll, national survey, March 18-28, 2024
Question: The U.S. Supreme Court is considering a case concerning the constitutionality of a federal law that prohibits people subject to domestic violence restraining orders from possessing firearms. Which comes closer to your view?
Response option: The Court should uphold the law prohibiting gun possession by those subject to restraining orders
Response option: The Court should strike down the law as a violation of the Second Amendment right to bear arms

Attention to news about the Court

Table 11 shows the trend in attention to news about the Court from September 2023 to March 2024. Few respondents had heard a lot about the Court in the past month in either September or November, but attention increased in 2024 as the Court heard arguments in some major cases. Still, in each survey, half or more said they have heard “just a little.”

Table 11: Attention to news about the Court

Among adults

Poll datesHow much heard or read
A lotA littleNothing at all
3/18-28/24305019
2/5-15/24245620
11/2-7/23156025
9/18-25/23176122
Marquette Law School Poll, national surveys, latest: March 18-28, 2024
Question: Thinking about the last month only, how much have you heard or read about the U.S. Supreme Court?

Confidence in institutions

Confidence in several institutions is summarized in Table 12. Juries in criminal cases enjoy the highest confidence among the five institutions and the lowest percentage of those expressing little or no confidence. Each of the other institutions has more respondents expressing little or no confidence than a great deal or quite a lot of confidence. The U.S. Supreme Court has the second highest level of confidence, followed closely by the presidency and the U.S. Department of Justice, with small differences in those saying little or no confidence. Congress suffers the lowest confidence rating, with 13% expressing a great deal or a lot of confidence and 51% saying they have little or no confidence in Congress.

Table 12: Confidence in institutions

Among adults

InstitutionConfidence
Great deal/a lotSomeLittle/None
Juries that decide criminal cases394417
U.S. Supreme Court303733
The Presidency283140
The U.S. Department of Justice273736
Congress133651
Marquette Law School Poll, national survey, March 18-28, 2024
Question: Here is a list of institutions in American society. How much confidence do you have in each one?

Those expressing a great deal or a lot of confidence in the Court increased to 30% in March from 25% in February, while those saying they have little or no confidence decreased to 33% in March from 40% in February. While there has not been a great deal of variation in confidence, this is the first time high confidence has reached 30% since July 2023, and it is the smallest level of low confidence since March 2023. The full trend is shown in Table 13.

Table 13: Confidence in the U.S. Supreme Court

Among adults

Poll datesConfidence
Great deal/a lotSomeLittle/None
3/18-28/24303733
2/5-15/24253540
11/2-7/23283636
9/18-25/23283735
7/7-12/23313237
5/8-18/23253639
3/13-22/23284032
1/9-20/23313831
11/15-22/22303634
9/7-14/22303436
7/5-12/22282844
9/8-15/20394516
9/3-13/19374220
Marquette Law School Poll, national surveys, latest: March 18-28, 2024
Question: The U.S. Supreme Court: Here is a list of institutions in American society. How much confidence do you have in each one?

Those who say that the justices’ decisions are based mainly on politics dipped slightly in March to 50% from 54% in February. The percentage saying decisions are based mainly on the law rose to 50% in March from 46% the previous month. The full trend is shown in Table 14.

Table 14: Are justices’ decisions motivated mainly by the law or mainly by politics?

Among adults

Poll datesPerceived motivation
Mainly politicsMainly the law
3/18-28/245050
2/5-15/245446
11/2-7/235545
9/18-25/235248
7/7-12/235842
1/9-20/234951
7/5-12/225248
1/10-21/224753
11/1-10/213070
9/7-16/213961
7/16-26/212971
9/8-15/203762
9/3-13/193564
Marquette Law School Poll, national surveys, latest: March 18-28, 2024
Question: In general, what most often motivates Supreme Court justices’ decisions?

Perceived ideological leaning of the Court

In March, 25% say they would describe the Supreme Court as “very conservative,” 32% would describe it as “somewhat conservative,” and 33% would call the Court “moderate,” while 8% see the Court as “somewhat liberal” and 3% believe it is “very liberal.”

Perceptions of the Court’s ideological leaning have shifted to the right since 2019, with far fewer seeing the Court as moderate, as shown in Table 15.

Table 15: Perceived ideological leaning of the Court, 2019-2024

Among adults

Poll datesPerceived ideology
Very conservativeSomewhat conservativeModerateSomewhat liberalVery liberal
3/18-28/2425323383
2/5-15/2421343375
11/2-7/2321353275
9/18-25/2320373273
7/7-12/2327352873
5/8-18/23243330103
3/13-22/2323353462
1/9-20/2322373182
11/15-22/2225363262
9/7-14/2229352753
7/5-12/2234332173
5/9-19/2223333482
3/14-24/22153736102
1/10-21/2217383582
11/1-10/2115353981
9/7-16/2116354072
7/16-26/2113374261
9/8-15/205305492
9/3-13/195335093
Marquette Law School Poll, national surveys, latest: March 18-28, 2024
Question: In general, would you describe each of the following… The U.S. Supreme Court

About the Marquette Law School Poll

The survey was conducted March 18-28, 2024, interviewing 1,000 adults nationwide, with a margin of error of +/-4 percentage points. Interviews were conducted using the SSRS Opinion Panel, a national probability sample, with interviews conducted online. The detailed methodology statement, survey instrument, topline results, and crosstabs for this release are available on the Marquette Law Poll website. Some items from this survey are held for later release.