Poll: 84 percent of voters label shutdown ‘unnecessary’

A majority of voters in a new poll said that the three-day government shutdown, which ended late Monday, was unnecessary.

The Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday found that more than eight in ten Americans said the recent shutdown was “mainly unnecessary,” a sentiment that prevailed across all parties, racial groups and genders.

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Slightly more voters, 32 percent, blamed congressional Democrats for the shutdown than President Trump, who was blamed by 31 percent. Eighteen percent blamed congressional Republicans.

Independents equally blamed congressional Democrats and Trump, with 28 percent each, while 20 percent blamed the GOP.

Democrats have reasons to feel encouraged heading into the 2018 midterms, however. A majority of all voters, 51 percent, wants Democrats to retake the House from the GOP in the fall, while 53 percent want Democrats to take control of the Senate. Just 35 percent of all voters want the GOP to hold the House and 33 percent want Republicans to maintain control of the Senate.

Independent voters also favor Democrats heading into the fall, according to the poll. Fifty-three percent of independents surveyed want Democrats to take the Senate, while 43 percent said the same for the House. Only 35 percent want Republicans to hold on to the House and 33 percent want the GOP to control the Senate. 

Pollsters also found that Congress remains largely unpopular. Congressional Republicans face a 70-percent disapproval rating, while Democrats face a disapproval rating of 63 percent.

Quinnipiac’s poll contacted 1,245 voters between January 19 – 23. It carries a margin of error of 3.3 percentage points.