A new YouGov/The Economist poll finds that Americans continue to place more blame on Republicans than Democrats for the ongoing government shutdown, though the margin between the two parties is narrowing.
According to the survey, 39 percent of respondents say President Trump and congressional Republicans are responsible for the shutdown, compared with 33 percent who blame Democrats in Congress—a six-point difference. The results mark a slight shift from earlier polling that showed a wider gap in public opinion.
Last week, the gap between the two parties stood at 11 points, with 41 percent of respondents blaming President Trump and congressional Republicans and 30 percent blaming Democrats in Congress, according to YouGov/The Economist.
In the latest poll, 20 percent of respondents say they hold both sides equally responsible for the shutdown, a slight decrease from 23 percent the previous week.
The shift in public opinion comes as the federal government approaches its third week of a shutdown, with negotiations between the two parties showing little progress toward a resolution, The Hill reported.
Democrats are pushing to include an extension of enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies in any deal to end the government shutdown. The subsidies are set to expire at the end of the year, a move that would increase insurance premiums for millions of Americans.
Republicans have said they will not negotiate on the health care subsidies until Democrats agree to support their proposal to reopen the government.
It should also be noted that the GOP majority in the House has passed a clean continuing resolution, but Senate rules require 60 votes for most legislation, and while the GOP also controls the upper chamber, there are only 53 Republicans.
Two Democrats and one Independent who caucuses with Democrats have consistently voted with majority Republicans to pass the continuing resolution. However, most Democrats are following Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s direction in opposing the measure, essentially leaving his party responsible for the continuing shutdown.
And, ss the shutdown continues, independent voters appear to be driving the shift in public opinion, contributing to the narrowing gap between which party is seen as more responsible for the ongoing standoff.
In the poll, 26 percent of independent voters say they blame Democrats for the shutdown, up from 17 percent the previous week.
Blame directed at President Trump and congressional Republicans declined slightly, falling from 41 percent last week to 38 percent this week. Meanwhile, the share of independents who hold both parties equally responsible dropped from 32 percent to 27 percent.
Meanwhile, a poll from the Associated Press–NORC Center for Public Affairs Research (AP-NORC), conducted in mid-October and released Thursday, found that 58 percent of U.S. adults believe former President Trump bears “a great deal” or “quite a bit” of responsibility for the government shutdown.
An equal 58 percent say the same about Republicans in Congress, while 54 percent attribute similar responsibility to Democrats in Congress.
“But a Reuters/Ipsos poll taken at the beginning of October found Americans feeling Republicans were less to blame for the shutdown,” ABC News reported this week.
When that survey asked who is most to blame for the failure to reach a deal that led to the shutdown, respondents were evenly divided between Democrats in Congress and former President Trump, while Republicans in Congress received less blame.
According to the survey, 37 percent of respondents said Democrats in Congress were most responsible, 37 percent pointed to Trump, and 19 percent blamed Republicans in Congress.
However, the poll also found that 63 percent of Americans believe Democrats in Congress deserve “at least a fair amount” of blame for the shutdown, the same percentage who said the same of former President Trump.
A slightly higher 67 percent said Republicans in Congress share at least a fair amount of responsibility.