Study: Government Shutdowns Impact Blue States More than Red States

Government shutdown 3D illustration and graphic concept. (Photo: AdobeStock)

Five Key Metrics Indicate President Trump, Republicans Can Tolerate Shutdown Longer than Democrats

President Donald Trump invited and met with congressional leaders at the White House on Wednesday to discuss negotiations to end the partial government shutdown.

Fearing a progressive revolt before securing the gavel in the U.S. House, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., did not come to negotiate in good faith.

Following what was supposed to be a border security briefing, Senator Schumer told reporters outside that Republicans “are starting to feel the heat.”

But a new study finds government shutdowns disproportionately impact Blue States and Democratic constituencies juxtaposed to Red States and Republican constituencies.

Rank	States Most Impact	Rank	States Least Impact
1	District of Columbia	42	Ohio
2	New Mexico	43	North Dakota
3	Maryland	44	New Jersey
4	Hawaii	45	Kansas
5	Alaska	46	Wisconsin
6	Virginia	47	Indiana
7	West Virginia	48	Iowa
8	Mississippi	49	Nebraska
9	Alabama	50	New Hampshire
10	Arizona	51	Minnesota

The result of the study conducted by WalletHub backs up PPD’s editor Rich Baris, who has been making the same case on social media for days.

Democrats have much more to lose than Donald Trump. He has everything to lose and their constituencies are disproportionately (significantly) impacted by government in general.

He's going to break them if he holds firm.
— Richard Baris (@Peoples_Pundit) January 3, 2019

WalletHub compared 50 states and the District of Columbia (D.C.) across 5 key metrics, ranging from each state’s share of federal jobs to federal contract dollars per capita to the share of families receiving food stamps.

Overall Rank	State	Total Score	Overall Rank	State	Total Score
1	District of Columbia	78.59	27	Vermont	30.46
2	New Mexico	65.95	28	Texas	29.59
3	Maryland	65.70	29	Utah	29.05
4	Hawaii	62.91	30	Connecticut	29.00
5	Alaska	61.08	31	Colorado	28.42
6	Virginia	56.61	32	Nevada	28.35
7	West Virginia	46.25	33	Pennsylvania	27.20
8	Mississippi	45.56	34	Massachusetts	27.09
9	Alabama	43.46	35	New York	27.08
10	Arizona	40.73	36	Delaware	26.98
11	Rhode Island	37.74	37	California	26.65
12	Montana	37.28	38	North Carolina	26.64
13	Maine	36.57	39	Arkansas	25.82
14	Florida	36.25	40	Michigan	24.96
15	Oregon	36.08	41	Illinois	24.76
16	Oklahoma	35.87	42	Ohio	24.66
17	Kentucky	35.81	43	North Dakota	23.69
18	Washington	35.71	44	New Jersey	19.30
19	Georgia	35.50	45	Kansas	18.84
20	Wyoming	33.01	46	Wisconsin	17.56
21	South Carolina	32.88	47	Indiana	17.02
22	South Dakota	32.62	48	Iowa	16.49
23	Tennessee	32.55	49	Nebraska	16.40
24	Louisiana	32.36	50	New Hampshire	15.59
25	Idaho	32.20	51	Minnesota	10.54
26	Missouri	32.15

The partial government shutdown entered its 13th day on Thursday and President Trump has invited congressional leaders back to the White House on Friday to again reopen negotiations.

These findings indicate Speaker Pelosi and Minority Leader Schumer will be feeling more “heat” than the president and Republican leaders on Capitol Hill.

Worth noting, unlike constituencies who rely on SNAP, otherwise known as food stamps, large Republican constituencies who might’ve been impacted are not in this case.

For example, the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) has been fully funded through Fiscal Year 2019.