According to a Gallup poll released today, Republican support for the Supreme Court has increased 21 percentage points since September of last year.
Partisan views have flipped since the beginning of the High Court’s term last October. GOP approval has increased from a mere 30 percent to a majority of 51 percent. On the other hand, Democrats approval is down 14 points, falling from 58 percent to 44 percent.
This is notable considering the majority of Democrats have viewed the Supreme Court favorably since 2012’s ruling on the individual mandate portion of the Affordable Care Act. During this time, approval spiked to 68 percent.
When party affiliation is taken out of the equation, Americans approval/disapproval of the High Court remain consistent with polls from September. Overall, 47 percent currently approve and 46 percent disapprove of the Supreme Court's performance. In September, the polls showed a similar 46 percent approval rating and 45 percent disapproval rating.
Although nearly two-thirds of this term’s decisions were unanimous, the two most recent cases of Harris v. Quinn and Burwell v. Hobby Lobby were slim 5-4 wins for the GOP. It is no surprise that Republicans faith in the Supreme Court has recently increased following several other victorious rulings for the conservative movement.