The Nashville-based Beacon Center of Tennessee published results of a poll on Thursday revealing how registered Tennessee voters feel about a number of legislative issues and political figures at both the state and federal levels.
The right-of-center think tank polled 1,200 registered voters in Tennessee from April 8 to April 23.
One of the issues the Beacon Center focused on was education in Tennessee and at the federal level, asking voters how “satisfied” they are with the K-12 public education in the state and how “favorable” they view the U.S. Department of Education.
The poll shows that 47 percent of Tennesseans are satisfied with the K-12 public education system in the state, while 42 percent are dissatisfied. At the federal level, 40 percent had a favorable view of the U.S. Department of Education while 37 percent had an unfavorable view.
Additionally, despite overall approval of the federal department, most Tennesseans (50 percent) support eliminating the U.S. Department of Education and returning funding to the states, while 37 percent oppose the idea of eliminating it.
The Beacon Center’s Senior Fellow for Public Opinion Mark Cunningham said the poll’s results concerning education were the most “interesting,” adding, “It’s clear that most Tennesseans believe the government should have some role in education, but most prefer that it be done at the state level, even if they have a positive opinion of the Department of Education generally.”
Another “surprising” result the Beacon Center’s poll found was Tennesseans’ bipartisan consensus around banning a statewide property tax, which met the requirements this past legislative session of the Tennessee General Assembly to be presented to voters on the 2026 general election ballot.
A total of 61 percent – Democrats (+28 percent), Independents (+47 percent), and Republicans (+46 percent) – of voters said they would vote for the amendment to ban a statewide property tax, while just 19 percent said they would vote against the amendment
Tennessee voters were also asked their overall thoughts of Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Bill Hagerty (R-TN), and President Donald Trump.
Lee was found to have the highest approval rating among the politicians, as 59 percent of Tennesseans approve of the governor’s handling of his job while just 34 percent disapprove.
Blackburn’s approval rating stands at 51 percent while Hagerty’s approval rating stands at 52 percent.
Trump’s handling of the presidency is approved by 58 percent of Tennesseans and disapproved by 42 percent.
The poll also asked voters how they feel about the work of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to help identify and cut wasteful, fraudulent, and abusive government spending under Elon Musk, which found that the effort stands at a 53 percent approval and 41 percent disapproval rating among Tennessee voters.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Lee is a grinning RINO. He proves that if one has a lot of money and puts an “R” after their name that they too can get elected. Just like he and Haslam were.
This goes to show that most Tennesseans have not been paying attention. I am one Tennessean that has paid close attention to Lee and others in our state government and if a large majority approve of Lee it is because they fall for his rhetoric but do no real research.