Tennessee Star Poll Shows Haslam Leads Green by 9 Statewide Among GOP Primary Voters in U.S. Senate Matchup, But Green Has Lead in Middle Tennessee

On Friday’s Tennessee Star Report with Steve Gill and Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am – the duo dissected the recent Tennessee Star Triton poll numbers which show former Gov. Bill Haslam leads Rep. Mark Green (R-TN-07) by 9 points statewide among likely GOP primary voters in a potential 2020 Republican U.S. Senate primary matchup. Green, however, leads Haslam in the three Middle Tennessee Congressional districts. Here is the transcript of that discussion: Gill: We’ve been talking a little bit about the Tennessee Star Triton poll that we did over the last week. Friday through Monday. A thousand three likely Republican primary voters were polled. And the reason that we polled frankly likely Republicans is whether you are looking at issues that will be moved through or blocked in the state legislature. The Republicans have super majorities in the state House and the state Senate.  What’s going to move those legislators to have concerns is going to be what do Republican primary voters think because that’s the only way most of these guys and ladies could get beat. Also when you look at the political reality…

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Poll: Diane Black Opens Up 10 Point Lead Over Randy Boyd in Race for Tennessee GOP Gubernatorial Nomination

Rep. Diane Black (R-TN-06) has opened up a ten point lead over Randy Boyd, her closest rival for the Republican gubernatorial nomination in Tennessee, according to a new poll released by The Tennessee Star. Black received the support of 21 percent of likely Tennessee Republican primary voters to lead the field of five contenders, followed by Boyd in second place with 11 percent. Rounding out the bottom tier of candidates are Speaker of the Tennessee House Beth Harwell (R-Nashville) with 6 percent, Bill Lee with 4 percent, and former State Senator Mae Beavers (R-Mt. Juliet) with 3 percent. The good news for Black’s four rivals for the GOP nomination is that 52 percent of likely voters in the August 2018 Tennessee Republican gubernatorial primary are still undecided. The poll also provided information on Tennessee Republican voter attitudes on six key policy questions that are expected to drive the debate in the Republican gubernatorial primary over the next eight and a half months. Likely Tennessee Republican primary voters in 2018: Overwhelmingly oppose providing taxpayer subsidized in-state college tuition to illegal immigrant students by a whopping 88 percent to 6 percent margin, more than 14-to-1 against.  Overwhelmingly oppose Republican candidates who accept…

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MTSU Poll: 77 Percent of Tennessee Republicans Trust President Trump, Only 40 Percent Trust Bob Corker

A recent poll conducted by Middle Tennessee State University confirms what The Tennessee Star Poll reported last month: President Donald Trump is by far the most popular elected official among Republican voters in Tennessee, and Senator Bob Corker (R-TN) is not particularly popular. Among Republicans, 86 percent of likely Tennessee Republican voters approved of President Trump’s job performance in The Tennessee Star Poll  released on June 6: When asked “How would you rate the job performance of President Donald Trump,” 86 percent of likely Republican primary voters in Tennessee said they approve of his job performance, while only 11 percent said they disapprove, a remarkable 75 percent margin of approval over disapproval. In the MTSU Poll, which measured trust,  77  percent of Tennessee Republican voters surveyed say they trust President Trump, while only 40 percent say they trust Senator Corker. The Tennessee Star Poll was conducted of 1,007  likely Republican primary voters in Tennesseee. The MTSU Poll was taken of  627 residents of Tennessee, 193 of whom were Republicans, 153 were Democrats, 139 were Independents, and 78 said they were “Not Political.” Among all those surveyed by the MTSU Poll, 38 percent say they trust President Trump, while only 28 percent…

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POLL: Nashville Voters Evenly Split Over Withdrawn Sanctuary City Ordinance

Tennessee Star

A new Tennessee Star Poll shows likely Nashville voters are evenly split over the “sanctuary city” proposal recently withdrawn by Metro Council members Bob Mendes and Colby Sledge. The poll of 533 likely Nashville voters was conducted within hours of Mendes’ announcement last week that he and Sledge were permanently withdrawing a controversial “sanctuary city” ordinance from a vote on third reading by the Metro Nashville Council scheduled for July 6, as well as a related ordinance scheduled for an August vote. When asked, “Metro Nashville Council was scheduled to vote on a proposal next week that would, in effect, turn Nashville into a sanctuary city where illegal immigrants are protected from arrest and deportation. Do you support or oppose the proposal for Nashville to become a sanctuary city?,” 49.4 percent supported, while 47.1 percent opposed, a statistical tie since the 2.3 percent differential is within the poll’s 4.2 percent margin of error: 31.9% Strongly support 17.5% Somewhat support 8.6% Somewhat oppose 38.5% Strongly oppose 3.4% Not sure/don’t know The poll results directly contradict Mendes’ claim made last week when he withdrew the controversial sanctuary city ordinances that “Inside the county, the support has been overwhelming for these bills.” Of particular…

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Tennessee Star Poll Summary: 86 Percent of GOP Primary Voters Support Trump, Corker Vulnerable, and Governor’s Race Wide Open

Tennessee Star

The Tennessee Star Poll released earlier this week revealed some important information about the current attitudes of likely Republican primary voters in Tennessee. Among the key results: 86 percent of likely Republican primary voters in Tennessee approve of President Trump’s job performance. No gubernatorial candidate has more than 10 percent support and the race is wide open. Senator Bob Corker’s re-election bid is in trouble. Rep. Marsha Blackburn is statistically tied in a one-on-one matchup with Senator Corker in a potential 2018 Republican U.S. Senate primary. Opposition to in-state tuition for illegal aliens is close to unanimous: 84 percent to 11 percent. A Republican gubernatorial candidate who promises to repeal the gas tax increase is more likely to receive the support of 48 percent of likely Republican primary voters and less likely to receive the support of 29 percent of likely Republican primary voters. 57 percent of likely Republican primary voters support constitutional carry. The Tennessee Star Poll will be conducted periodically between now and the August 2018 Republican primary to provide current insights into voter opinion among Tennessee’s likely Republican primary voters. The next poll is scheduled to be conducted and released in September of this year. The June 2017…

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Humphrey on the Hill Compares The Tennessee Star Poll With The Vanderbilt Poll

Tom Humphrey, dean of the Tennessee political press corps, wrote an article Thursday at “Humphrey on the Hill” contrasting the results of the recent Tennessee Star Poll with the Vanderbilt Poll, in an article titled, “A clash of polling perspectives on in-state tuition for children of illegal immigrants.” We reprint the article, in its entirety, below: A clash of polling perspectives on in-state tuition for children of illegal immigrants The results of a Tennessee Star poll on support for granting in-state tuition rates to children of illegal immigrants living in Tennessee are strikingly different from results from a similar Vanderbilt University poll on the subject. Tennessee Star’s results, reported Thursday, are that 84 percent of the “likely Republican primary voters” surveyed are opposed while only 13 percent support the notion. The Vanderbilt poll, reported May 30, found 66 percent of registered voters favor the idea while just 30 percent oppose. One difference, of course, is the Star only asked declared Republicans while Vanderbilt covered all registered voters. But the Vandy poll found support for the proposal, which has failed on close votes in the General Assembly for the past two year, widespread despite party alignment. Among those identifying themselves as…

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Tennessee Star Poll: GOP Primary Voters More Likely to Support Gubernatorial Candidate Who Will Repeal Gas Tax Increase, 48 Percent to 29 Percent

The Tennessee Star Poll of 1,007 likely Republican primary voters shows that by a wide margin, 48 percent to 29 percent, they are “more likely to support” a gubernatorial candidate who supports a repeal of the 6 cents per gallon gas tax increase and 10 cents per gallon diesel tax increased passed by the Tennessee General Assembly and signed by Gov. Haslam last month. When asked “Are you more likely or less likely to vote for a candidate for governor who promises to repeal this gas tax increase if elected?” 48.1 percent of likely Republican primary voters said they were more likely to support such a candidate while 29.8 percent said they were less likely to support that candidate: 24.3% Much more likely to support 23.8% Somewhat more likely to support 16.5% Somewhat less likely to support 13.3% Much less likely to support 22.1% Not sure/don’t know That is good news for State Senator Mae Beavers (R-Mt. Juliet), the only one of the three announced candidates who supports repeal of the gas tax increase. In fact, at her announcement on Saturday, Beavers declared repeal of the gas tax increase will be one of her top priorities, if she is elected…

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Tennessee Star Poll: 84 Percent of Republican Primary Voters Reject In-State Tuition for Illegal Aliens

Tennessee Star

  The Tennessee Star Poll conducted of 1,007 likely Republican primary voters in the state shows they reject in-state college tuition for illegal aliens by a stunning 84 percent to 11 percent margin. When asked “In 2018, the Tennessee General Assembly is expected to reconsider a bill to provide in-state college tuition to illegal immigrant students. Do you support or oppose providing in-state college tuition to illegal immigrant students?” Tennessee likely Republican primary voters resoundingly rejected the idea–with high levels of intensity. 68.9% Strongly Disapproved 15.5% Somewhat Disapproved 5.9% Somewhat Approved 5.2% Strongly Approved 4.5% Not Sure/don’t know In-state tuition for illegal aliens and repeal of the gas tax increase are likely to be two of the hottest topics of the 2018 election in the gubernatorial race as well as a number of contested state legislative races. Two bills proposed in this year’s session of the Tennessee General Assembly introduced by State Senator Todd Gardenhire (R-Chattanooga) and State Rep. Mark White (R-Memphis) that promised in-state tuition at Tennessee’s public colleges failed to become law. One bill, HB660, “would authorize the new college and university governing boards to decide which students are eligible to pay in-state tuition rates.” Another bill, HB 863,…

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The Tennessee Star Poll: GOP Gubernatorial Primary Race is Wide Open, No Candidate Over 10 Percent

Tennessee Star

FRANKLIN, Tennessee – A new poll released by The Tennessee Star conducted by Triton Polling and Research of 1,007 likely Tennessee Republican primary voters shows that the party’s nomination for governor in 2018 is wide open, as no announced or likely candidate has the support of more than 10 percent of likely voters. More than 60 percent are undecided. When asked  “If the election was held today, who would you vote for governor of Tennessee,” and given seven possible candidates–State Senator Mae Beavers (R-Mt. Juliet) Congresswoman Diane Black, Knoxville businessman Randy Boyd, State Senator Mark Green (R-Clarksville), Speaker of the Tennessee House Beth Harwell (R-Nashville), Williamson County businessman Bill Lee, and State Senator Mark Norris (R-Collierville)–the likely Tennessee Republican primary voters surveyed in the poll responded as follows: 60.9% — Don’t Know Undecided 9.9% — Diane Black 8.1% — Randy Boyd 6.3% — Mark Green 4.3% — Beth Harwell 4.1% — Bill Lee 3.9% — Mae Beavers 2.5% — Mark Norris Since the poll has a margin of error of 3.1 percent, six of the seven candidates included in the poll are in a virtual tie for the lead. Mark Norris is the only candidate not in the statistical tie,…

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New Poll: Trump Approval Rating Sky High Among Likely GOP Primary Voters in Tennessee

Tennessee Star

FRANKLIN, Tennessee–A new poll released by The Tennessee Star on Tuesday conducted by Triton Polling and Research of 1,007 likely Republican primary voters in Tennessee shows that President Donald Trump’s job approval rating is sky high among Tennessee Republicans. When asked “How would you rate the job performance of President Donald Trump,” 86 percent of likely Republican primary voters in Tennessee said they approve of his job performance, while only 11 percent said they disapprove, a remarkable 75 percent margin of approval over disapproval. The vast majority of those likely Republican primary voters in Tennessee strongly approve of President Trump’s job performance: 63.9 percent Strongly Approve 22.6 percent Somewhat Approve 5.3 percent Somewhat Disapprove 6.3 percent Strongly Disapprove 1.9 percent Don’t Know/Are Unsure Tennessee’s Republican Governor Bill Haslam also has high job performance approval ratings among likely Republican primary voters in Tennessee, though slightly lower than President Trump’s and with less intensity of support. When asked “How would you rate the job performance of Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam,” 74 percent of likely Republican primary voters in Tennessee said they approve of his job performance, while only 22 percent said they disapprove. 29.3 percent Strongly Approve 45.1 percent Somewhat Approve 15.1…

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