Post poll: Shutdown hit Virginians more than voters nationally

Recent polls show that the 16-day government shutdown impacted Virginians more than voters nationally, which is perhaps not surprising in light of how many federal workers live in the state and the D.C. metropolitan region.

Thirty-five percent of Virginia registered voters in a Post/Abt-SRBI poll out this week said they were personally inconvenienced by the shutdown, compared to 22 percent of voters nationally in a Post-ABC poll last week said the same.

Virginia has the second-highest population of federal employees in the nation, while the Virginia Beach and the D.C. metropolitan areas rank second and fourth, respectively, among metropolitan regions for highest percentage of such workers among jobholders.

Interestingly, higher-income Virginians reported the greatest disruption, with 48 percent of those claiming household incomes of at least $100,000 saying they were inconvenienced by the shutdown, compared to 29 percent of those earning less than $50,000 saying the same.

The poll showed a similar level of inconvenience across party lines — 32 percent of Republicans and 38 percent of Democrats. However, Democrats were twice as likely to report a “major inconvenience,” at 23 percent compared to 11 percent for Republicans.

The two polls showed nearly identical results for dislike of the closure, with 82 percent of Virginia voters and 81 percent nationally saying they disapproved of it. Voters in both polls also blamed Republicans more than Democrats by a margin of 21 percent.

Josh Hicks covers the federal government and anchors the Federal Eye blog. He reported for newspapers in the Detroit and Seattle suburbs before joining the Post as a contributor to Glenn Kessler’s Fact Checker column in 2011. Josh graduated from Albion College and Stanford. He also lived in New Zealand for eight months working as a commercial fisherman and fruit picker.

Author: AFGE Local 704

Representing over 900 bargaining unit employees working at the U.S. EPA Region 5 Offices in Chicago, Ann Arbor, MI and Westlake, OH. View all posts by AFGE Local 704