Americans have come to hold a harshly negative view of the Republican Party during the government shutdown, giving the GOP a far larger share of the blame for a political brawl that many believe is harming the economy, a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll found.

The poll of 800 Americans found scant confidence that President Barack Obama and Republicans in Congress can find a way out of the morass, with nearly eight in 10 saying the country was on the wrong track—the highest number since the worst of the recession in 2008....