Poll: GOP favorability declines during shutdown, Democrats steady

As the longest government shutdown in U.S. history came to an end, Gallup polling suggests that the Republican Party’s image has suffered more than the Democratic Party’s. The GOP’s favorability rating fell to 37% from 45% in September. At the same time, Americans’ favorable views of the Democratic Party remained stable at 45%. Still, opinions of the GOP are not as negative as they were during the October 2013 shutdown when only 28% viewed the party positively…

Since September, the largest decline in favorable ratings of the Republican Party has come among independents, from 41% to 29%. Republicans’ ratings of the GOP are down six percentage points to 85%, while Democrats’ opinions of the GOP are slightly more positive, from 6% favorable to 11%.