A majority of Americans say they'd prefer rolling back the GOP tax cut to cutting spending to reduce the deficit, according to a new poll.

A poll by NPR, PBS NewsHour and Marist found that 60 percent of adults surveyed preferred repealing tax cuts to cutting government spending and entitlement programs, which only 21 percent supported as a means of reducing the deficit. Just 2 percent said they wanted both, while 17 percent said they were unsure.

Democrats have seized on GOP calls for cutting back entitlement programs such as Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security in their campaign messaging.

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The GOP tax law and a bipartisan spending bill helped fuel a 17 percent spike in the 2018 deficit, which hit $782 billion. The deficit is on track to surpass $1 trillion in 2019, according to White House projections.

Republicans hoped that tax cuts would help fuel support for their party in November's midterm elections, but that strategy may have backfired, according to the poll.

Forty-five percent, a plurality, said that the tax issue made them more likely to vote for a Democrat, while just 39 percent said it made them more likely to vote Republican. All in all, the poll found, taxes weren't high on the list of voter priorities. Only 11 percent said it was the top factor in their vote.

The poll was conducted from Oct. 21 to 23, and surveyed 935 U.S. adults. Its margin of error is 3.9 percentage point.