Poll shows many Minnesotans blame GOP for shutdown

According to a new poll, 42 percent of Minnesotans think Republican legislators are responsible for the government shutdown.

Of the Minnesotans surveyed, 21 percent think Gov. Mark Dayton's to blame, 22 percent think both parties are responsible and 15 percent have no opinion, according to the survey, which was conducted by MinnPost and Daves & Associates Research.

According the write-up in MinnPost, 56 percent of Republicans say Dayton's to blame for the shutdown, while 10 percent say the GOP is at fault (the rest had no opinion or pinned blame on both parties.) And 68 percent of Democrats blamed Republicans while 2 percent blamed Dayton.

What's really interesting about the poll is how self-identified independents view the shutdown. Nearly half - 46 percent - say the GOP is responsible, while only 18 percent say Dayton's to blame. And 25 percent of indepdents blamed both parties.

The poll also asked how the budget should be balanced, and most Minnesotans - 66 percent - favor a combination of cuts and tax increases, while 23 percent favor spending cuts only.

It's worth noting that the poll wasn't meant to predict how Minnesotans will vote in the next election; those polled were not screened for whether they are likely voters, according to the MinnPost story.

We've put out a request for comment from the GOP leadership, and will update the story accordingly.

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