NJ Voters Blame GOP For Government Shutdown

New Jersey’s registered voters are blaming the Republican Party for the government shutdown, according to a new Rutgers-Eagleton Poll.

More than half of Garden State voters say the shutdown is the GOP's fault, while 19 percent blame Obama. Only 5 percent blame Democrats in Congress, but 20 percent say there is blame enough for everyone.

"The federal government shutdown is not playing any better in New Jersey than elsewhere," said David Redlawsk, director of the Rutgers-Eagleton Poll and professor of political science at Rutgers. "Those directly affected are very frustrated, and even those not seeing direct effects say the shutdown was the wrong way to go.”

The shutdown has personally affected about one in five people who participated in the survey. A quarter of those hurt say either they or a family member were furloughed, or their business has been impacted. Many New Jerseyans are also reporting problems accessing personal benefits or government-funded programs and that the shutdown has been exacting an emotional toll.

The poll surveyed 799 registered New Jersey voters statewide among both landline and cell phone households from Oct. 7-13. The poll has a margin of error of +/- 3.5 percentage points.