Poll: GOP favorability drops as Dem favorability stays steady

The Republican Party’s favorability among Americans appears to have suffered following the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, although views of the Democratic Party have remained steady, according to a new Gallup poll released Wednesday.

The GOP’s favorability fell to 37 percent, down from 45 percent in September when it had been the most favorable rating for the party since 2010 after the successful confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. 

The Democratic Party’s favorability rating has remained at 45 percent.{mosads}

Although the Republican Party’s favorability has plummeted following the 35-day shutdown that ended last week, Gallup noted that opinions are still higher than the 28 percent rating the party was given during the October 2013 shutdown.

The poll indicates that the Democratic Party’s image was not harmed by the shutdown, unlike in 2013 when its favorable rating dropped from 47 percent to 43 percent.

The poll also found that 50 percent of respondents found that Democratic leaders in Congress acted more responsibly during the shutdown, compared to 39 percent who said President Trump was more responsible.

Thirty-eight percent of Americans polled approve of the job Democrats in Congress are doing, compared with 31 percent who approve of the Republicans in Congress.

Trump’s low job approval rating does not appear to have been greatly affected by the shutdown, according to two separate Gallup polls conducted during the shutdown.

It dropped 1 percentage point, from 40 percent before the shutdown began on Dec. 22 to 39 percent in the new polls.

The Gallup poll was conducted between Jan. 21-27, with roughly 70 percent of interviews having been completed by Jan. 25, when the shutdown ended.

The poll was conducted through telephone interviews, with a random sample of 1,022 adults. The margin of error is 4 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level.