Poll: Nearly half of adults say Republicans more to blame if the government shuts down

A new ABC News/Washington Post poll out Friday shows Republicans face more political liability if a shutdown occurs than Democrats do.

When asked who they’d blame if the government shuts down 48 percent of those polled say they’d accuse Republicans, while 28 say they’d point to Democrats. Another 18 percent say they’d give both parties equal blame.

There is, of course, partisan disparity with 78 percent Democrats blaming Mr. Trump and Republicans, as well as 46 percent of independents. Sixty-six percent of Republicans point the blame at Democrats, and only 25 percent of independents agree. 

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The survey was conducted for ABC News by Langer Research Associates from Jan. 15-18 in both English and Spanish among 1,005 adults. The margin of error is 3.5 points with a partisan divide of 31-23-40 percent of Democrats, Republicans and independents, respectively.