A day before the U.S. House of Representatives is expected to impeach President Donald Trump, a new Vanderbilt University poll shows most Tennesseans do not want that.
Vanderbilt reached the conclusion by surveying 1,000 registered voters from all across Tennessee.
Of the people surveyed, 58% said they believe Trump’s request that Ukraine investigate former Vice President Joe Biden was improper. But, only 35% think that’s an impeachable offense worthy of Trump’s removal from office.
Meanwhile, 34% believe the president did nothing wrong.
As you might expect, this breaks mostly along party lines.
Of those who think Trump broke the law and should be impeached, 76% identified as Democrats, 32% as independents and 2% as Republicans.
Gov. Lee Keeps Good Approval Ratings
According to the new poll, Trump has a 50% approval rating.
John Geer, the co-director of the Vanderbilt Poll, said in a statement that Trump’s numbers show a trend.
“Something new we are seeing is that he’s dropped about 10 points in the suburbs,” Greer said. “This reflects a broader trend of suburban discontent with President Trump across the country.”
Gov. Bill Lee is the most popular politician in the state with a 62% approval rating. That’s about one point higher than in May.
U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander and Marsha Blackburn got 46% and 44% approval ratings, respectively.
Overall, 56% of Tennesseans approve of the job done by the state legislature, while only 28% approve of the job done by Congress.
On Local Issues
A hot issue that came up multiple times during this year’s legislative session was the bust of Nathan Bedford Forrest, a Confederate General and first Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, in the state Capitol.
Many groups and black activists have protested the monument and have asked for its removal.
And it seems like a majority of Tennesseans want the same.
According to the poll, 76% of voters said the bust should be removed from the Capitol.
As for issues of concern for non-urban Tennesseans, 59% of rural voters worry about not having enough money to pay for emergencies.
“Findings like these are why we wanted to ask voters more about their personal experiences,” Vanderbilt Poll Co-Director Josh Clinton said in a statement. “Despite the rosiness of some of our overall numbers about the economic conditions of Tennessee, its citizens tell us that that they are still concerned about their personal circumstances and that they face difficult challenges and choices.”
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