New polling shows U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) in serious trouble from a primary challenge by businessman Garland Tucker.
Read the full storyU.S. Sen. Tillis of North Carolina Underwater Among Republican Primary Voters, Poll Says
Tag: poll
Tennessee Star/Triton Poll Shows Re-Elect Troubles for Mayor David Briley
A new Tennessee Star/Triton poll of 550 likely voters in Davidson County indicates that he will face some stiff headwinds in his bid for reelection in August. His first challenge will be addressing a favorability/unfavorability deficit of 35.5 favorable, 44.6 unfavorable and 20.1 undecided. More specifically, if the August Mayoral race was held today, Briley would lead the way into a runoff with less than a third of the vote, 30.6%, followed by conservative former Vanderbilt Professor Carol Swain at 21.1%, Metro Councilman John Cooper at 11% and State Representative John Ray Clemmons with 10.5%. 26.9% of those surveyed were undecided at this point. Briley won the last Mayoral race a year ago without a runoff when he carried 54.4% of the votes. Swain finished a distant second with 22.9%, slightly more than she recorded in the new Tennessee Star/Triton poll. Four other candidates in that race received about 5% of the vote each. The most recent fundraising reports from the candidates last month showed Briley with a huge 4-1 advantage over both Swain and Clemmons. Cooper had initially passed on a race for Mayor and only announced his plans after the last fundraising reporting deadline. However, he can…
Read the full storyBuckeye Institute Blasts Tax Hike, Warns Legislators: ‘Don’t Increase the Tax Burden on Ohioans!’
A joint committee of the Ohio House of Representatives and Senate was convened Wednesday in the hopes of reconciling the major divides in their respective transportation budgets. As they work towards a solution, one state think tank is reminding them not to forget the consequences Ohio citizens will face as a result of their decisions. House Bill 62 (HB 62), the 2020-21 Ohio Transportation Budget, the first major bill proposed of newly-elected Ohio Republican Governor Mike DeWine’s tenure, called for an 18 cent gas tax increase. It would go into effect immediately and carry no tax offsets. The Ohio House of Representatives revised the proposal to 10.7 cents and ordered it to be phased in over three years. Most recently, the Ohio Senate dropped the tax rate even lower to six cents. None of the proposals carry a complete tax offset. In this joint session, the legislators hope to reconcile differences, yet DeWine has maintained from day one that his 18 cent proposal is “a minimalist, conservative approach, with this being the absolute bare minimum we need to protect our families and our economy.” The Buckeye Institute, an independent think tank whose focus is “to advance free-market public policy” has acknowledged that a gas tax increase is…
Read the full storyPoll Shows School Choice Has 67 Percent Support Among Likely 2020 General Election Voters
Latinos and Millennials are among the demographics who most strongly support school choice, the fifth annual National School Choice Poll says. The American Federation for Children, which advocates for educational choice, and Beck Research, a Democratic polling firm, announced the poll results Thursday. More information on the poll is available here in an article by Tommy Schultz, the federation’s national communications director. Support among Latinos was 73 percent, while for Millennials it was 75 percent, the federation said. Full polling information is available here. School choice is favored by a 67 percent to 27 percent margin, Beck Research said. The poll was taken from among 1,200 likely 2020 General Election voters. John Schilling, president of the American Federation for Children, said in a statement, “Despite relentless attacks from opponents of educational freedom throughout the past year, school choice support has grown over the past year. Most parents want a different option for their child and are willing to make sacrifices to go to a better school if they had the option.” According to the federation, one poll highlight was: When asked, “Generally speaking, would you say you favor or oppose the concept of school choice?” and given the following definition,…
Read the full storyNew Vanderbilt University Poll Proves They Are Clueless About Politics And Polling
by Steve Gill, Political Editor of The Tennessee Star Vanderbilt University has just released a new political poll that has anybody with even a remedial understanding of politics scratching their heads about the methodology and results. With Christmas approaching it looks like Santa will need to add a new category on his Naughty or Nice checklist to accommodate the Vanderbilt political science experts: Nitwits! First, the poll targeted “registered” rather than “likely” voters, which always guarantees a less informed and involved pool of responses. Those who are “registered,” simply because they are automatically registered when they get a driver’s license but don’t actually vote, are not the folks who spend much time getting informed about the candidates or political issues; nor do they consume much news. Second, the Republican-Democrat composition of the poll gives Republicans a small 7 point margin over Democrats (34-27). Really? In a state that has super majorities of Republicans in the State House and Senate; a 7-2 Republican majority in the Congressional delegation; a 26 point Donald Trump margin of victory over Hillary Clinton; a Bill Lee margin over Karl Dean in 2018 by 22 points; and a Marsha Blackburn victory over Phil Bredesen by…
Read the full story2 Polls Show Blackburn With Either 6 Point, 7 Point Lead Over Bredesen
Less than a week until the midterm elections, a poll by Cygnal, a national polling and research firm, shows U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN-07) with a 6-point advantage over Democrat Phil Bredesen in Tennessee’s US Senate race. The live telephone survey conducted October 26-27, with 497 likely general election voters, shows Blackburn leading Bredesen 51 percent to 45 percent, with only 2 percent of voters undecided. Of the 46 percent of respondents who have already voted, 50 percent indicated they supported Blackburn, while 44 percent say they voted for Bredesen. Meanwhile, Vox Populi Polling released its latest survey of 780 active voters from the race, showing Blackburn with a seven point lead, 48 percent to 41 percent with 11 percent undecided. Blackburn’s lead is a 6-point improvement since Vox Populi Polling’s last Tennessee poll, conducted in mid-September, that had the race tied at 42 percent. Macy Cambio, Vox Populi Polling Managing Director, said, ”In the weeks leading up to Election Day, Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn has rallied Republican voters to help solidify her base. With Phil Bredesen’s image now underwater and Blackburn opening up a seven-point lead, the chance of this seat flipping Democratic looks much slimmer than it did just one…
Read the full storyBlackburn Edging Out Bredesen 51 to 46 Percent, NBC News Marist Poll Says
Republican Marsha Blackburn is narrowly edging out Democrat Phil Bredesen in Tennessee’s Senate race despite Bredesen having a higher favorability with likely voters, a new NBC News/Marist poll finds. Both U.S. Rep. Blackburn (R-TN-07) and former Gov. Bredesen have seen decreased popularity since the hotly fought campaign began, NBC’s Carrie Dann reports. The NBC News/Marist poll shows Blackburn with the support of 51 percent of likely voters, compared to 46 percent support for Bredesen. Among all registered voters, Blackburn’s advantage narrows to 49 percent to 46 percent. Blackburn’s standing has improved since a previous NBC/Marist poll of Tennessee released in early September, when Bredesen led 48 percent to 46 percent among likely voters. That poll was conducted August 25-28. NBC says the shift “may be a dose of political reality for Bredesen in Tennessee, where President Donald Trump won by 26 points in 2016. The poll’s sample shows that 43 percent of likely voters identify as Republicans, while just 27 percent identify as Democrats.” Among likely voters, 45 percent have a favorable impression of Blackburn, while 46 percent have an unfavorable one, down from a 46 percent favorable/ 36 percent unfavorable rating two months ago. Bredesen’s favorability is down, but…
Read the full storyTaylor Swift’s ‘Reputation’ Not Enough to Move Voters in Tennessee Senate Race, Poll Says
Taylor Swift’s endorsement of Democrat Phil Bredesen has done little to move the needle in the U.S. Senate race, a new poll by Cygnal, a Republican polling and research firm shows. Pop superstar Taylor Swift used Instagram recently to endorse Bredesen and U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper (D-TN-05), The Tennessee Star reported on Oct. 8. The 28-year-old superstar stunned fans by breaking her career-long political silence with her endorsements. Cygnal says Swift’s foray into politics is not having much impact, however, particularly in Bredesen’s race with U.S. Representative Marsha Blackburn (R-TN-07) for the open Senate seat. The Star reported Saturday that a New York Times poll shows Blackburn with a strong lead of 54 percent to 40 percent over the former governor. While election officials in Tennessee have noted an increase in voter registrations, more than 86 percent of respondents say their vote hasn’t changed, despite 82 percent of respondents indicating they were aware of the endorsement, Cygnal said in a statement. “Millennial and Gen Z voters are highly aware of the endorsement of the Democrat, but it did little to move their vote preference,” said Matt Hubbard, vice president of Research & Analytics at Cygnal. “Swift’s endorsement is providing a…
Read the full storyCompleted New York Times Poll Shows Marsha Blackburn Leading Phil Bredesen By 14 Points, 54 Percent to 40 Percent
The New York Times has finalized its poll numbers in the Marsha Blackburn-Phil Bredesen Senate race, and the complete results are good news for Blackburn and bad news for Bredesen. The Tennessee Star on Wednesday reported on an earlier snapshot of the poll, showing U.S. Representative Blackburn (R-TN-07) with a 57 percent to 39 percent lead over Democratic former Governor Bredesen. The New York Times’ poll has been updated in real time to show Blackburn’s lead at 54 percent to 40 percent over Bredesen. The newspaper’s poll information is here. In September, the newspaper said it would use “live polling,” in which the results of polls in Battleground States could constantly change over a two-month period leading up to the election. “For the first time, we’ll publish our poll results and display them in real time, from start to finish, respondent by respondent. No media organization has ever tried something like this, and we hope to set a new standard of transparency. You’ll see the poll results at the same time we do. You’ll see our exact assumptions about who will turn out, where we’re calling and whether someone is picking up. You’ll see what the results might have been…
Read the full storyPoll: Marsha Blackburn Now Leads ‘Fibber Phil’ Bredesen by 8 Points
U.S. Representative Marsha Blackburn (R-TN-07) leads Phil Bredesen in the U.S. Senate race by eight points, 50 percent to 42 percent, CBS News reported in a new Battleground Tracker poll. CBS says that in this race and several others where Democrats hope to win upset Senate victories, they are “having at best mixed results so far.” Those other states are Texas and Arizona. Democrats are having better luck in typically blue New Jersey. [pdf-embedder url=”https://tennesseestar.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/cbs-poll.pdf” title=”cbs poll”] These races have been nationalized, CBS said. By more than two to one, registered voters say national issues outweigh local ones. Voters say their vote is mainly about the country’s direction. Majorities of each candidate’s voters say they aim to put their party in control. Those who say they support either Blackburn or Democratic former Governor Bredesen say their level of support is “very strong” (62 percent) vs. “strong” (24 percent). Voters feel relatively more satisfied about the country’s direction in Texas and Tennessee — where the Republicans lead and where President Trump is more popular — compared to voters in New Jersey and Arizona, where the president’s approval rating is under 50 percent. Trump looms large in each of these contests. In…
Read the full storyTennessee Star Poll: Tennessee Voters are Overwhelmingly More Likely to Support Candidates Who Favor Legalization of Medical Marijuana
Several recent political polls have surveyed support and opposition to legalization of medical marijuana and indicated that Tennessee voters support some form of legalization. Now, a new Tennessee Star poll questioned how the issue may move votes. Likely Tennessee November general election voters were asked: “Would you be more or less likely to vote for a candidate who supports legalizing the distribution and sale of marijuana in Tennessee if limited to prescribed medical use only?” More than half – 55.4% – responded that they would be MORE likely to vote for a candidate who supports legalization of medical marijuana while only 19.5% were LESS likely to support a candidate favoring legalization of medical marijuana. Only 17.2% said it would make no difference and 7.8% indicated that they were “not sure or didn’t know.” Tennessee Star political editor Steve Gill points out that while the legalization of medical marijuana may not be a top issue to most voters, the intensity of the issue to those to whom it is important should cause political leaders to pay attention. “Voters are rightly concerned that “medical marijuana” is merely a Trojan Horse means of moving towards legalization of “recreational” drug use, which Tennessee voters…
Read the full storyNew NBC/Marist Poll of Likely Tennessee Voters Shows Bredesen and Blackburn Neck-and-Neck While Lee Leads Dean by Double-Digits
A new survey of Tennessee voters indicates that the race for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Senator Bob Corker (R-TN) is essentially a dead heat between Democrat Phil Bredesen and Republican Marsha Blackburn, with Bredesen ahead among likely voters by a 48-46% margin with 5% undecided. Republican Bill Lee has a large lead over Democrat Karl Dean in the race for Governor, 53-40%, with 7% undecided. The NBC/Marist poll of Tennessee was conducted August 25-28 of 940 adults (which has a margin of error of plus-minus 4.0 percentage points), 730 registered voters (plus-minus 4.5 percentage points) and 538 likely voters (plus-minus 5.1 percentage points). Respondents were contacted both by landline and cell phone. While the poll data indicates that the respondents were sampled across regions in Tennessee based on population, there is no indication of the percentages of Republicans, Democrats and Independents who were surveyed. Among likely voters, Bredesen leads among Democrats (97 percent to 0 percent), African Americans (86 percent to 8 percent), women (55 percent to 40 percent) and independents (49 percent to 45 per-cent), while Blackburn leads among Republicans (86 percent to 9 percent), men (54 percent to 40 percent) and whites (53 percent to 42…
Read the full storyGravis Poll Says Lee Leading Dean by 11; Blackburn Over Bredesen by 4
A new post-primary poll conducted by Gravis Marketing shows the Tennessee Republican candidates for Governor and Senate leading their Democratic Party opponents. The poll of likely November voters indicates that Bill Lee has an 11 point margin over Karl Dean, with 9% uncertain, in the Governor’s race. In the Senate battle to fill the seat of retiring Senator Bob Corker, Marsha Blackburn leads Phil Bredesen by a 48-44 margin with 8% uncertain. [pdf-embedder url=”https://tennesseestar.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/GRAVITAS_Tennessee-August-12-2018-v2.pdf”] The poll surveyed surveyed 620 likely voters between Aug. 9 and 11. Polls by Gravis Marketing have not always been considered among the most reliable in political circles. In fact, they have been identified as the worst polling company in America by some. Based upon the relatively low approval numbers for President Donald Trump in this poll, 54% approval in a state he carried with over 60% of the vote, and 79% approval among Tennessee Republicans when other state and national polls have shown him with approval ratings in the mid to high 80s among his party, the Gravis Poll may be showing less support for the Republican candidates than they actually have. Nevertheless, there are some interesting tidbits within the data. Both Blackburn and Lee…
Read the full storyThings That Make You Go Hmm: Independent Polling Firm Puts Lee in the Lead While Tied to Campaign Consultants
On Tuesday’s Gill Report, broadcast live on WETR 92.3 FM in Knoxville, conservative pundit and Tennessee Star Political Editor Steve Gill baffled at a recent independent poll that stated Bill Lee was leading Tennessee’s GOP primary race. The question remains to be answered of whether or not Lee knew the polling company was tied to one of his campaign consultants. He’s yet to answer the question. Gill contemplated, “We and a lot of other media outlets across the state were talking about a new poll that was released on Monday that showed Williamson County businessman Bill Lee leading the republican gubernatorial primary for the first time. It was branded and put out by the lead campaign and others as an independent poll.” He continued: And yet as we now discover, and you can see the whole story with the details and the links at Tennesseestar.com, that the general consultants for the Bill Lee campaign are actually connected to the company that did the polling. Again, the polling firm that claims Bill Lee is leading in the governor’s race is actually connected to the consultants on the Lee campaign. Now the Lee campaign didn’t disclose their connection to the polling firm…
Read the full storyPoll in Williamson County State House District 61 Shows Brandon Ogles and Bill Lee Leading in Their Primary Races
A new poll conducted among likely GOP voters in the Nashville suburbs of Brentwood and Franklin by Triton Polling shows good news for State House candidate Brandon Ogles and Gubernatorial candidate Bill Lee, along with some warning signs for Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn in her bid for the U.S. Senate. The survey of 361 likely Republican Primary voters was conducted June 18-22, 2018 and has a margin or error of 5.1%. In the GOP primary race for Governor, the poll showed Williamson County native Bill Lee leading the field with 32.4% of the vote, followed by Diane Black with 21.3%, Randy Boyd with 16.1%, Beth Harwell with 14.9% and 15.4% undecided. Other polling has indicated that Lee is seeing a recent surge in support in Middle Tennessee, where he, Black and Harwell all have a significant base of support. Many political observers believe that Lee’s gains come at the expense of Black, and may help Boyd in a statewide race due to his primary base of votes coming from East Tennessee, where he appears to have a significant lead over the other three candidates who all come from Middle Tennessee. In the House primary race to fill the vacancy created by…
Read the full storyTrump Stormy Daniels Affair Allegations of ‘Very Little Importance’ to the Nation, 49 Percent Say
Eight-out-of-10 Americans have heard the news of an adult film actress who says she had an alleged sexual encounter with President Trump in 2006 – a percentage which is shared almost equally between Republicans, independents and Democrats according to a new Economist/YouGov poll released Tuesday.
Read the full story$9 Billion Transit Backers Try New Poll To Fish For Support
One citizens’ group says the city and its backers are conducting yet another poll to try to show support for the Let’s Move Nashville Transit Improvement Plan. NoTax4Tracks said in a press release that at least one of its people received a polling call regarding the $9 billion transit plan that includes light rail service. Questions include: Would this make you more or less likely to vote for the plan? 17 cents a day cost Comprehensive light rail, bus and other Neighborhood parking zones to get on and off Will run longer hours at night If seniors get a discount If out-of-towners pay for most of it through the hotel tax It would eliminate the need to go downtown to go to neighborhood to neighborhood Which are important to you when you consider your vote: would cost $5.4 billion that we would have the highest sales tax that sales tax is regressive and would hurt lower income communities Which people are meaningful to you in making this decision: David Fox Megan Barry Someone else News of the new poll broke hours before word came of Mayor Megan Barry’s extra-marital affair with the head of her security detail, so it is…
Read the full storyPOLL: Large Majorities of Voters Support Cutting Immigration, Including Refugees, Plus Ending Chain Migration and the Visa Lottery
by Roy Beck A new national poll of “likely midterm voters” finds 55% of them favoring a bill that “would allow immigrants to bring in their spouse and minor children but would end migration of extended family.” Only 32% of the voters say they oppose eliminating the Chain Migration categories. With so much speculation the last two days about what the President would require to be part of any DACA amnesty, his tweet September 15 was a welcome one: CHAIN MIGRATION cannot be allowed to be part of any legislation on Immigration! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 15, 2017 Although the brief tweet could have been clearer, we assume the President meant that “Chain Migration categories cannot be allowed to continue in any immigration legislation.” That would be consistent with his repeated support over the last year for the concept and legislation to reduce overall legal immigration, primarily by ending Chain Migration categories for extended family members beyond spouse and minor children. Majorities support all parts of the ‘RAISE Act’ The scientific survey of 1,000 likely midterm voters conducted by Pulse Opinion Research found strong majorities supporting all parts of the RAISE Act, which the White House stated Friday afternoon…
Read the full storyPoll: Senator Bob Corker May Be In Trouble With Tennessee Republican Primary Voters
A new poll released by The Tennessee Star conducted of 1,007 likely Republican primary voters in Tennessee by Triton Polling and Research shows that Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) may have trouble winning the nomination of his own party in its August 2018 U.S. Senate primary. First elected to the United States Senate in 2006, the former mayor of Chattanooga is up for re-election to a third term in 2018. He has not yet said that he will seek re-election, but many political observers would be surprised if he opted not to run again. When asked “As of now, do you think Bob Corker deserves re-election or is it time to give someone else a chance? ” only 41.1 percent of likely Republican primary voters in Tennessee said he “deserves re-election.” An equal number, 41.6 percent, said “give someone else a chance.” There were not a great number who were undecided on this question–only 17.3 percent said “don’t know/not sure.” “An incumbent who falls below a 50 percent re-elect number should be wary, particularly when they have seen so much anti-incumbent turmoil in the electorate in recent years,” media consultant and political strategist Steve Gill tells The Tennessee Star. “But…
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