WASHINGTON – About half of Minnesota residents approve Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation to the US Supreme Court, and the number of people who do not believe he's been sexually assaulted is higher than those who believe him , according to a new Star Tribune / MPR News Minnesota Poll.

The poll comes two weeks after Kavanaugh was sworn in after his appointment by President Donald Trump, cementing a conservative majority in the country's highest court. A small majority in the Minnesota poll – 52% – believe Kavanaugh's wish that he will be an "independent and impartial" justice.

On the poll of 800 voters likely to occur between October 14th and 17th, 49% are in favor of Kavanaugh's confirmation, while 43% disapprove. The margin of sampling error of the survey is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

The close confirmation of Kavanaugh by the US Senate followed the public testimony of university professor Christine Blasey Ford, who had sexually assaulted her as a teenager in the 1980s. Kavanaugh denied it. allegation, causing an intense political stalemate in the Senate.

A handful of questions from the Minnesota survey on Kavanaugh reveal a marked gender gap. Fifty-seven percent of men confirmed their confirmation, compared to 42% of women. Men are also less likely to believe Ford's allegations than women.

"Why did she go to high school?" Asked Daniel Moran, a 71-year-old handicapped veteran from Askov and questioned. "Everyone in high school did something stupid. Even if I did something stupid – I do not know what it was, but I'm sure I did. I do not believe [Kavanaugh] attacked no matter who. "

The poll reveals huge differences between Democrats and Republicans in their vision of Kavanaugh's allegations and confirmation. In the survey, 38% of participants say they are Democrats, 33% Republicans and 29% independent.

Moran is among the 39% of respondents who say that Kavanaugh's confirmation makes him more likely to vote for Republicans. Forty-one percent say it will make them more likely to vote for Democrats.

These results also show a clear division between the sexes. Among women, 47% say they are more likely to vote for Democrats because of Kavanaugh and 33%, Republicans. In men, the opposite is almost true: 45% say they are more likely to vote for Republicans and 34% say Democrats.

"I do not have a good impression on this," said Marilyn Herzing, a Milaca resident interviewed, about Kavanaugh's confirmation. "He was so ready to say how it ruined his life. It did not ruin his life … I think he played the "Poor Me" card too much. "

When asked if she thought Kavanaugh had committed a sexual assault, Herzing stopped.

"I would say that the way he deviated on some of the issues makes me think that he would most likely have done what he said," said Herzing, a 75-year-old retiree. "Am I 100% sure? No, but I think his way of answering the questions did not really answer the questions. "

Kavanaugh's largest support is in northern Minnesota, where 60% of respondents agree with his confirmation. It is supported by smaller majorities in southern Minnesota and the Twin Cities suburbs, with the exception of Hennepin and Ramsey Counties, where only 33% of them approve.

More and more divisions are emerging on Kavanaugh's confirmation views across different demographic groups and income levels. Fifty-three percent of participants in a survey earning more than $ 50,000 a year approve of Kavanaugh's confirmation, compared to 40% of those earning less than $ 50,000. And older voters are also more likely to favor Kavanaugh: 54% of people aged 65 and over approve the judge's confirmation and 57% of 18- to 34-year-olds disapprove.

For Democrats and Republicans, political alignments largely dictate their view of Kavanaugh's rise to court. Only 6% of Democrats approve this confirmation. 93% of Republicans support it. In addition, 69% of DFLs believe that Kavanaugh was sexually assaulted in adolescence and only 5% of Republicans.

For all divisions, some interviewees expressed ambivalence about what happened – and their views did not follow clear political lines.

Donald Wade, a 44-year-old carpenter and housewife, said he found that Kavanaugh's behavior during the confirmation of the hearings was "not judicial". Judiciary Committee of the Senate.

Wade, who lives in the town of St. Augusta, in Stearns County, also said that he tended to believe Ford. Despite all this, he stated that he was convinced that "someone could do something bad in high school and, even in adulthood, rejuvenate and lead a productive life, so I do not will not want it. "

Wade said he was not completely comfortable with Kavanaugh's confirmation, but supported it overall. He also stated that he was a Republican before the 2016 elections, but that he had not voted for Trump and that he was feeling more and more alien to the Republican Party.

Carol Lowe, a 75-year-old Richfield resident who was interviewed, believed Ford and said she was horrified by Kavanaugh's confirmation.

"I thought Mrs. Ford was incredibly credible," said Lowe, who teaches at Metropolitan State University. "I have no doubt that this has probably happened as she has remembered it … I do not think he'll remember having it." done, but I think it's probably done. "