NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — The new Vanderbilt Poll found a growing approval rating of the Tennessee General Assembly, despite Tennesseans' views on key issues, including abortion exceptions, gun reform, and recreational cannabis use, often contradicting the actions taken by lawmakers.
"Many of the actions in the state legislature are inconsistent with what the public wants, even just among Republicans," John Geer, a political science professor at Vanderbilt University and the co-director of the Vanderbilt Poll said. "There's a disconnect between the actions of our leaders and the preferences of the public."
According to the poll, 53% of Tennesseans surveyed consider themselves pro-choice, up five points from 2022. In addition, 82% of those polled support abortion exceptions in cases of rape, and 81% support abortion exceptions in cases of incest.
However, the Tennessee Republican supermajority has yet to pass legislation allowing abortion exceptions for rape and incest.
"This state is uniformly across the board in favor of a variety of exceptions for abortion. That's just true," Geer said. "Whether you're a MAGA Republican or a liberal Democrat, both of those groups strongly support exceptions."
Over the years, the general assembly has killed multiple bills to legalize medical and/or recreational cannabis, despite 63% of Vanderbilt Poll respondents saying they support the legalization of recreational cannabis, with 53% of Republicans supporting the measure, and 78% of Democrats, according to the poll.
Perhaps one of the most heated debates in Tennessee is over gun reform. The Vanderbilt Poll found 86% of registered voters who participated support legislation to require a gun owner to report when their gun is lost or stolen, including 74% of "MAGA Republicans." In addition, 78% of respondents support some form of a red flag law to temporarily restrict gun access for individuals with a high risk of hurting themselves or others, a measure similar to what Gov. Bill Lee proposed last year during a special session on public safety after the Covenant School shooting, and the general assembly strongly pushed against.
📧 Have breaking news come to you: Subscribe to News 2 email alerts →
Geer told News 2 gerrymandering might explain the inconsistencies between lawmakers' actions and the public's opinion on certain issues.
"There's very limited competition in the general election where the competition is in the primaries, so these legislators are acting quite rational, but they're worried about their right flank; or the handful of Democrats who exist, they're worried about their left flank, so they tend to play to the extremes," Geer said.
Even as Tennesseans voice their support for measures the general assembly has fought against, 53% of the Vanderbilt Poll participants said they approved of the job state lawmakers are doing, a seven-point jump from the May 2024 poll. Voters also expressed greater approval for Gov. Bill Lee, who received a 60% approval rating from participants, up from 54% in May 2024. However, approval was sharply divided by party loyalty.
Geer suggests this could be an "afterglow" of the election.
In addition, while more than half of respondents said they believed the state was heading in the right direction, the numbers varied greatly based on gender. Sixty percent of men responded they believe the state was heading in the right direction, while 54% of women believe the opposite.
"We see a gender divide across the country. It's not unique to Tennessee, but it's certainly playing out here in some pretty notable ways," Geer said.
To view the complete poll, click here.