The House has not been in session for 45 days. Yet as the shutdown stretches on, the political stakes are mounting for both parties - with new polls showing Democrats gaining ground nationally and Republicans facing eroding public support.

An NBC News poll released Sunday showed Democrats leading by eight points on the generic congressional ballot, matching their advantage ahead of the 2018 midterms, when they captured 40 seats and control of the House, Punchbowl news reports. The survey comes exactly one year before the 2026 midterm elections.

That said, a WaPo poll released Sunday suggests "little evidence that negative impressions of Trump's performance have accrued to the benefit of the Democratic Party," and there's only a 2-point spread between R's and D's with Democrats leading. 

White House officials dismissed the NBC results as an "outlier." The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's own internal polling, which the outlet said it obtained earlier, found Democrats ahead by four points in battleground districts.

Of note, the NBC News poll sampled 41% Democrats and 39% Republicans (including 'lean' Democrat / Republican responses) with 15% independents, while the WaPo poll sampled 33% Democrats, 30% Republicans, and 31% independents - so not quite the level of thumbs on the scale in previous years. 

Meanwhile President Donald Trump's approval rating continues to weigh heavily on Republicans. A Washington Post–ABC News–Ipsos poll found that 41% of Americans approve of his handling of the presidency, compared with 59% who disapprove. Among independents, only 30% approve, while 69% disapprove. On the economy - long seen as Trump's strongest issue - he fares worse, with 37% approving and 62% disapproving. "These Trump economic numbers are in line with other recent polls," one report noted. "This is a serious problem for Republicans."

Fetterman Blames Dems

While the NBC survey also found that 45% of Americans blame Republicans for the shutdown, with only 33% blaming Democrats, Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) placed blame for the shutdown directly on Democrats. Appearing on CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday, he said that Democrats "really need to own the shutdown," the Daily Signal notes.