The Nashville-based Beacon Center of Tennessee’s November poll highlights deepening political polarization between Republican and Democratic voters in the Volunteer State.
The poll, which surveyed 1,200 registered voters in the state between October 26-29, featured voters’ views on socialism versus capitalism, the National Guard in Memphis, political violence, the 2026 gubernatorial election, and more.
Most notably, the poll shows U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) to continue to be the overwhelming favorite Republican candidate in the 2026 gubernatorial election with a 49-point lead over U.S. Rep. John Rose (R-TN-06) and 52-point lead over State Rep. Monty Fritts (R-Kingston) among primary voters.
Twenty-eight percent of GOP primary voters said they were undecided.
Further, when it comes to statewide candidates, 54 percent of voters said they approve of the job incumbent Governor Bill Lee is doing while 38 percent disapprove.
President Trump’s approval rating among Tennessee voters stands at 57 percent. Forty-one percent of Tennesseans disapprove of the president’s job performance.
With regard to political ideologies among Tennessee voters, the poll reveals a stark partisan divide in economic attitudes.
The poll results show a majority of Democrats (54 percent) in the state now view socialism favorably as opposed to only 31 percent who hold a negative view of the system
Among the overall electorate, socialism remains broadly unpopular, standing 24 points underwater.
In contrast, capitalism maintains majority support statewide, with 53 percent of voters expressing a favorable opinion – driven largely by strong Republican approval (+47 percent) even as Democrats’ views of capitalism remain net negative (-15 percent).
The poll also surveyed voters’ thoughts on political violence across the nation, finding that 90 percent believe it’s a problem while just 9 percent do not.
Notably, while 38 percent of voters said both the left and right share equal blame for the rise in political violence, 32 percent blame the political left more, while 18 percent blame the political right.
Shifting to state issues, the poll surveyed voters’ thoughts on federal intervention in Memphis, where, under the Memphis Safe Task Force, authorities have made over 2,000 arrests.
Despite national attention over federal authorities in Memphis, the Beacon Center’s poll found that Tennesseans support the move as a strong majority (63 percent) approve of deploying troops to the city, while only 33 percent disapprove.
Over in Nashville, the poll also asked voters about Elon Musk’s tunnel construction company, the Boring Company, constructing the high-speed transit Music City Loop tunnel to connect the airport to the city’s downtown area – all at no expense to taxpayers.
Overall, 56 percent of voters approve of the project while 29 percent oppose it.
When it comes to K-12 public education in the Volunteer State, 47 percent of voters are satisfied with the performance of Tennessee schools while 42 percent are dissatisfied.
With regard to religion being taught in Tennessee schools, 52 percent of voters said there is not enough religion in public schools, while only 18 percent said there is too much, and another 21 percent believe the current balance is just right.
Further, a majority of voters (72 percent) also believe that prayer or Bible readings should be part of classroom activities at least some of the time, while only 24 percent said public schools should not include religious activities.
The Beacon Center’s full November poll can be found here.
– – –
Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “Marsha Blackburn” by Marsha Blackburn.
Senator/Governor Blackburn better be ready for the chaos that will unfold when the donks regain control of the federal government. Their retribution will be sever, think the period of reconstruction after the northern war of aggression.
Amazing that 47% declared Tennessee public schools satisfactory. Maybe there is a link between the lack of concern and the abysmal education results generated by the public schools. No wonder the schools are not doing any better. The adults are accepting of shameful results.
Is anyone really surprised that Tennessee Democrats have a liking for socialism? It appears that the Democrat Party adherents have become believes that everything should be provided for free. I have to believe that they truly believe that money grows on trees. A very sad statement for Tennessee.