Subject: NEW Poll: Majority of Iowa Voters Oppose Sen. Grassley’s Supreme Court Obstructionism
From: Natalie Raps <[email-masked]>
To: Natalie Raps <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 2 May 2016 17:11:36 +0000

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 2, 2016
Contact: Natalie Raps, [email-masked]<mailto:[email-masked]>

NEW Poll: Majority of Iowa Voters Oppose Sen. Grassley’s Supreme Court Obstructionism
Voters Support A Hearing & A Vote for Judge Garland; Grassley’s Refusal to Do His Job Could Swing Key Constituencies in the Iowa Senate Race

Washington, DC – Today, the Constitutional Responsibility Project, in conjunction with the League of Conservation Voters, released a new survey of Iowa voters conducted by Hart Research Associates. Findings confirm that a majority of Iowa voters support giving Chief Judge Garland a fair hearing and an up-or-down vote and believe that Sen. Grassley is playing partisan politics by refusing to allow the Senate Judiciary Committee to take action on Chief Judge Garland’s nomination. Both undecided voters and one in five voters who otherwise might be inclined to support Grassley indicate that this issue could drive them to not vote for Senator Grassley in the November general election.

A full memo from Hart Research Associates outlining the survey’s findings can be found HERE<http://weneednine.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Me-WN9-IA.pdf>.

Key findings from the Constitutional Responsibility Project and the League of Conservation Voters survey include:

  *   By a margin of 57 percent to 35 percent, Iowa voters say the Senate should hold hearings and give Chief Judge Garland an up-or-down-vote.
  *   When told about Senator Grassley’s position on not allowing a hearing for Chief Judge Garland, 55 percent of voters have a negative reaction. 59 percent of independents view Senator Grassley’s position negatively.
  *   60 percent of voters, including 63 percent of independents, agree with the conclusion that Senator Grassley is letting Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell dictate the Senate Republican position on Chief Judge Garland’s nomination, rather than acting as a leader as chairman of the Judiciary Committee.
  *   44 percent of all Iowa voters said they are less likely to support Senator Grassley in his re-election bid this year as a result of his position to not grant Chief Judge Garland a fair hearing.
  *   One in five voters who otherwise might be inclined to support Grassley indicates that this issue could drive them away from him, and half of undecided voters also say this issue would make them less likely to be with Grassley in November.

"Senator Grassley is the poster child for the Republican Senate that refuses to do its job. Republicans left town for another recess without doing anything on scores of important issues including Judge Merrick Garland's nomination to the Supreme Court,” said Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid (D-NV). “The Senate is on pace for the lightest work schedule in 60 years. Chairman Grassley's Judiciary Committee has been the least productive Judiciary Committee in six decades. By refusing to do their job, Republicans are showing the American people that they are the party of gridlock and obstruction."

“I have been conducting polls in Iowa for numerous years, and it is telling that Sen. Grassley’s favorability ratings have fallen steeply from where they were in the past, likely in large part due to his refusal to allow for a fair hearing and vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee,” said Geoff Garin, President of Hart Research Associates. “Voters understand that this is not a value driven decision, instead it is pure politics, plain and simple. With independent voters turned off by Senator Grassley playing politics as usual, key portions of the electorate indicated that may be inclined to vote against Sen. Grassley come November.”

“The Court truly plays a significant role in the lives of everyday Americans, including our right to breathe clean air, to drink clean water and to leave our children with a healthy planet. Iowans understand the importance of filling this vacancy, and Judge Garland is impeccably qualified,” said Tiernan Sittenfeld, Senior Vice President of Government Affairs, League of Conservation Voters. “It is long past time for Senator Grassley along with other Senate Republican leaders to stop obstructing and to do their job.”

“In the two and a half months since Republican Senators made it clear that they were going to refuse to do their job for any Supreme Court nominee, public support for their position continues to erode. Voters know that Sen. Grassley is choosing to turn his back on the Iowa way and instead blindly follow Republican leadership – even when it leads to gridlock in Washington,” said Stephanie Cutter of the Constitutional Responsibility Project. “The Constitutional Responsibility Project, along with key coalition members, will continue to hammer home in Iowa this recess that it is time for Sen. Chuck Grassley to listen to his constituents and fly back to Washington to allow for a fair hearing for Chief Judge Garland.”

From April 22 to 24, 2016, Hart Research Associates conducted telephone interviews with a representative cross section of 400 Iowa voters and 101 additional swing voters in the state. The partisan composition of the total weighted sample of 501 respondents is 33% Democratic and 35% Republican.

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