Gallup: Kagan has the lowest approval rating of any nominee who is likely to make it on the court

This is a pretty surprising result from the Gallup survey:

Typically, support for nominees does not change much after their hearings. Instead, Gallup usually finds increases in the percentage of Americans opposed and decreases in the percentage with no opinion. The percentage without an opinion on the Kagan nomination was the same before and after her hearings, which may indicate these were not widely followed by the average American.

The Senate Judiciary Committee will vote on Kagan's nomination next week, with the full Senate voting later this summer. Kagan is expected to be confirmed, given the Senate's large Democratic majority.

Among the general public, a majority of self-identified Democrats, 68%, favor Kagan's confirmation, compared with 43% of independents and 21% of Republicans. A majority of Republicans, 60%, are opposed.

If confirmed, Kagan would be the first successful nominee in recent years whose nomination was backed by less than a majority of Americans in the final poll before the Senate confirmation vote (or, in the case of Harriet Miers, before her nomination was withdrawn). . . .