A Vanderbilt University poll of 1000 registered voters in Tennessee shows that support for President Joe Biden has dropped among Democrats, Independents and Republicans.
Compared to the spring of 2021, Biden’s approval rating among Democrat voters has dropped from 92 percent to 79 percent, a full 14-point fall. Among Independent voters, the decline is even steeper, dropping from 46 percent to only 27 percent, or 19 points. Republican support for the President in the state dropped from five percent to two percent.
The poll was taken between April 26 and May 14 and has a margin of error of 3.8 points.
“Poll co-directors John Geer, Ginny and Conner Searcy Dean of the College of Arts and Science and professor of political science, and Josh Clinton, Abby and Jon Winkelried Professor of Political Science, say the new findings align with a national trend of waning support for Biden, even among Democrats and independent voters,” says a press release that accompanied the poll.
The economy is a major issue for Tennessee voters.
According to the poll, voters in Tennessee who say the state’s economy is “Very good” or “Fairly good” has dropped from 74 percent in the spring of 2021 to 64 percent this spring.
The poll shows an even steeper drop in optimism about the American economy.
In the spring of 2021, 47 percent of Tennesseans thought the economy was “Very good” or “Fairly good.” That number has dropped to 27 percent this spring as inflation skyrockets and gas prices hit all-time highs.
Also of note, Tennesseans’ satisfaction with Gov. Bill Lee (R) is slipping.
Overall, 65 percent of Tennesseans regardless of political party said last year that they approved of his job performance, compared to only 56 percent this year.
Unexpectedly, the decline was sharpest among Democrats, falling from 28 percent to 19 percent. Independents now approve of the governor at a rate of 51 percent, as opposed to 63 percent at the same time last year.
Republican support for the governor holds strong at 83 percent, and dropped only four points over the course of the year.
“There’s a general dissatisfaction with the direction of the country right now, and we pick that up in a lot of different ways—whether it be in the national poll or in how people are viewing local leaders,” Geer said in the press release.
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Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Joe Biden” by The White House.
