The Nashville-based Beacon Center of Tennessee published results Thursday of its poll revealing which topics registered Tennessee voters are looking forward to being discussed this upcoming legislative session.
In regards to education, an overwhelming majority of respondents support Governor Bill Lee’s statewide educational choice plan. Lee’s Education Freedom Scholarship Act would offer education savings accounts (ESAs) for students in all 95 counties in the Volunteer State.
A total of 68 percent of respondents support the governor’s proposal while 19 percent oppose his plan. The plan is supported by 85 percent of Republicans, 56 percent of Independents, and 56 percent of Democrats.
In addition, the poll found that voters would be much more likely to vote for a legislator who supports the governor’s plan, as 52 percent of respondents say they’d be more likely to vote for a legislator who supports statewide ESAs compared to 12 percent who say it would make them less likely to vote for that legislator.
Tennessee voters are also looking forward to discussions surrounding property tax regulations during the upcoming legislative session, as the poll found only 11 percent of voters said they believe decisions on property taxes should be left solely up to the local mayor and city council/county commission.
A total of 74 percent of residents said they believe there should be some statewide regulation for property tax increases – 39 percent said they believe that a combination of statewide regulation and local decision-making best reflects their views on property taxes, and 35 percent prefer the state to implement an outright cap on property taxes.
Additionally, 67 percent said they would support a statewide property tax cap if such increases had to be approved by voters through a referendum.
The poll also revealed how registered Tennessee voters would vote in the 2024 presidential and senate races.
Regarding the 2024 presidential election, the think tank’s poll shows former President Donald Trump with a 32-point lead (63 percent-31 percent) over Joe Biden in a head-to-head matchup in the Volunteer State.
In the 2024 Republican presidential primary, Trump leads the pool of candidates by huge margins. The former president’s 72 percent is followed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ 12 percent and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley’s 7 percent.
A total of 63 percent of Trump voters said they would still vote for him even if he was convicted of a crime.
As for the 2024 Democratic Senate primary race, Tennessee State Representative Gloria Johnson (D-Knoxville) leads candidate Marquita Bradshaw, who was the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in 2020, by 30 points (41 percent-11 percent) while 45 percent remain undecided.
The right-of-center think tank polled 1,302 registered voters in Tennessee from December 14. 2023 to December 28, 2023.
– – –
Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
