Poll finds opposition to another shutdown, divide on wall

A majority of voters are opposed to another government shutdown and are evenly split on whether they think the U.S. needs a wall along the southern border, according to a poll released Wednesday.

Approximately 60 percent of those surveyed said they oppose another government shutdown, while 33 percent of respondents said they would back another shutdown over President Trump’s request for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

The Politico/Morning Consult poll also found that voters are evenly split, with 47 percent backing a border wall and 47 percent against constructing the barrier. Earlier polls had shown that more voters opposed the wall than backed its construction.

{mosads}The poll was taken before members of Congress reached a deal Monday to keep the government open until September. 

The proposal would provide $1.375 billion in funding for roughly 55 miles of new barriers along the southern border, well short of the $5.7 billion Trump has demanded for a wall.

Trump has not yet said whether he would sign off on the deal but seemed to be moving in that direction as of Tuesday night. 

The new poll suggests if an agreement is not reached, voters would blame Trump for a new shutdown. Fifty-two percent of respondents said they would blame Trump or Republicans in Congress if the government shuts down again, as opposed to 37 percent who would blame congressional Democrats.

However, the number that would blame Democrats has risen since the last shutdown, which lasted 35 days.

“Although voters would hold President Trump responsible for a second shutdown, there’s an uptick in voters who would blame congressional Democrats,” Tyler Sinclair, Morning Consult’s vice president, said.

“Notably, 37 percent of voters would blame congressional Democrats for a government shutdown, compared to 31 percent who said the same before the first shutdown.”

The poll surveyed 1845 registered voters between Feb. 7-10. The margin of error for the sample is plus or minus 2 percentage points.