CNN’s chief data analyst, Harry Enten, on Tuesday noted how the ongoing government shutdown doesn’t actually appear to be harming Republicans politically.Instead, it’s boosting their brand, he suggested.“News Central” anchor John Berman had proposed that a shutdown may come to an end “if parties start to feel that it is hurting them.”Enten acknowledged how “you might think, given that the Republicans are in charge of both the House and the Senate, that a government shutdown might actually hurt the Republican brand.”But he added, “In fact, it hasn’t. If anything, it’s been helped a little bit.”The GOP is currently up two points compared to pre-shutdown polling, he said, adding that net approval ratings for Republicans in Congress are “actually up five points” for the same period.“That’s the math” that Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) are looking at when deciding if they should throw in the towel or not, he reasoned.Enten said the shutdown is “rallying the base” of Republicans “for sure” and the “middle of the electorate” too.“This is the type of math that if you’re Republicans you like to see, right?” he asked. “Because something could rally the base but alienate those in the middle, or something could rally those in the middle, but alienate the base. But the truth is we’re not seeing that.”He went on to explain, “What we’re seeing is the Republican brand has actually gotten better among independents, and it’s also gotten better among Republicans as well. So again, what’s the electoral reason that Republicans would give in at this point?”Close