Poll: Tennessee voters approve of public officials, but not always their positions
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A growing number of voters approve of Tennessee's elected officials, but they remain at odds with many of the policies those officials put forth, according to a new poll from Vanderbilt University.
Why it matters: The new poll, released Friday, shows that a majority of Tennessee voters favor Medicaid expansion, abortion access and gun restrictions for at-risk people.
- But the Republican-controlled General Assembly is firmly opposed to all of those measures.
Zoom in: Medicaid expansion, long a non-starter with lawmakers, garnered support from 73% of voters, according to the poll results.
- That includes a majority in every political category: MAGA Republicans, non-MAGA Republicans, Democrats and independents.
About 53% of voters identified as definitely or somewhat "pro-choice." Support for abortion access has grown, even as Tennessee enacted a strict abortion ban in 2022.
- Wide majorities of Tennessee voters support abortion ban exceptions in cases of incest (81%) or rape (82%). Those totals include strong majorities among voters of every political affiliation.
More than three in four voters, including a majority of all political groups, supported temporary gun restrictions for at-risk individuals. Even so, efforts to pass a so-called "red flag law" to enact those restrictions have floundered.
Yes, but: Despite the policy splits, approval for all elected officials is up. Pollsters suggest this may reflect a post-election "afterglow."
- Tennessee state lawmakers' approval rose to 53%, a 7-point increase since May.
- Gov. Bill Lee's approval ticked up to 60% while U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn's hit 53%.
- Sen. Bill Hagerty's approval is 46%, a 6-point bump since May.
How it works: The latest Vanderbilt poll was conducted Nov. 18-Dec. 4 and included 955 registered Tennessee voters. The margin of error is +/- 3.6 percentage points.