The Divide Between How Men & Women Feel About Kavanaugh Is Actually Gigantic

Brett Kavanaugh's nomination and eventual confirmation to the Supreme Court sparked numerous protests in Washington, D.C. and across the country, with many Americans voicing their disapproval. In fact, according to a new poll from The Washington Post and ABC News, more Americans disapprove of Kavanaugh's confirmation than approve.

The Washington Post remarked that the Senate's 50-to-48 vote to confirm Kavanaugh was the closest margin on a Supreme Court justice appointment since the 1880s; the public's reaction to Kavanaugh's confirmation seemed to reflect a similar divide. The joint poll, which was conducted during Kavanaugh's first week as a justice, found that 41 percent of people polled approved of Kavanaugh's confirmation, while 51 percent disapproved.

Thirty-three percent of registered voters polled also said that they would be more likely to vote for Democratic candidates in the midterm election in light of Kavanaugh's confirmation. Among those, Independent women especially illustrated a greater preference for Democrats, with 37 percent saying they would likely vote for Democrats and only 12 percent saying they would support Republicans. However, a different poll from Hill.TV indicated that the majority of Americans disagreed with how both Democrats and Republicans handled Kavanaugh's confirmation process.

Overall, women led the charge in calling for a congressional investigation of Kavanaugh. Fifty-three percent of Americans support such an investigation, the Washington Post/ABC News poll found, but 58 percent of women polled said they support the probe while 47 percent of men did.

Women and men were similarly divided in how they felt about the Senate's efforts to investigate Kavanaugh. Fifty-six percent of women polled said the Senate did not do enough to investigate the sexual misconduct allegations against Kavanaugh, while only 43 percent of men shared that view. Overall, only 41 percent of people polled believed that the Senate's investigation had been sufficient.

These differences among women and men were particularly significant in overall reactions to Kavanaugh's confirmation. As ABC News pointed out in its analysis of the poll, women disapproved of Kavanaugh's appointment to the Supreme Court by a 58-to-35 percent margin, while men were about evenly divided in their support and opposition.

Kavanaugh was officially sworn in as a Supreme Court justice on Oct. 6, Newsweek reported, after weeks of hearings and debates. During his confirmation process, three different women came forward with sexual misconduct allegations against him, all of which Kavanaugh denied. Donald Trump did order an FBI probe into Kavanaugh following multiple calls to do so from senators, but FBI Director Christopher Wray told the Senate on Wednesday that the White House had limited the scope of the expanded background check.

The American public isn't the only group calling for a new probe into Kavanaugh. According to ABC News, New York Rep. Jerrold Nadler — a Democrat — has promised to open an investigation into the allegations against Kavanaugh if the Democrats take control of the House of Representatives in the midterm elections. Nadler is the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, and would become the committee's chairman if Democrats achieve a majority in the House.