EXCLUSIVE: Tennesseans high on quality of life but at odds with lawmakers on key issues

Tennesseans largely are satisfied with their overall quality of life in the Volunteer State, but there is a marked disconnect between their stance on key issues and the direction of political leadership in the state, according to the findings of an exclusive new Tennessean/Siena College poll.

A significant majority across the ideological spectrum supports gun-reform proposals such as red flag and safe storage laws, a less-restrictive abortion measure and Medicaid expansion — all policies the Republican-controlled legislature has actively blocked. 

"What does it mean to be a democracy if a majority of people feel one way on an issue and legislative action, or legislative inertia, is moving the other way or blocking it?” said Don Levy, director of the Siena College Research Institute, which conducted the poll.

"And that appears to be the case on a number of issues in Tennessee. On a lot of state legislative issues, when public opinion reaches 60% on an issue, we often see legislatures accept and move in that direction. Whether that will be the case in Tennessee is yet to be seen.”

Siena College Research Institute surveyed 805 Tennessee residents between Nov. 5 to 10 for the wide-ranging poll, which tested Tennessean opinions on everything from hot-button political issues at the state and national level to lifestyle choices. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.8 percentage points.

The poll surveyed a cross-section of both registered voters and those who are not. The largest group, 45%, identified as independent or “other,” with 20% identifying as Democrats and 34% as Republicans.  The poll also surveyed political ideology, with 17% of respondents identifying as liberal, 38% as moderate and 42% as conservative.

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The poll indicated the closer a topic is to home, the more common ground Tennesseans can find: Opinions were split on national political issues such as the upcoming presidential election and military aid for international conflicts, while consensus coalesced more often than not on Tennessee-specific questions.

“It’s a surprising consensus among a majority of Tennesseeans on several hot-button state issues,” said Kent Syler, professor of political science at Middle Tennessee State University, who was not involved in the survey. “If I were a state elected official, one of my main takeaways would be to focus on state issues where you can get a consensus, and don’t bring national politics into debates on Tennessee issues.”

Vast majority of Tennesseans continue to support gun reform

When asked if they would support or oppose a “red flag law in Tennessee that would temporarily remove firearms from those found by a judge to be a danger to themselves or other,” 70% responded they would support it.

The majority notably did not balk at the term “red flag,” which some politicians have tiptoed around as a perceived political landmine.

Among Democrats, 88% would support the measure, with 69% of Republicans backing such a proposal. Support was highest among West Tennessee respondents, those with a bachelor’s degree or higher and people 55 and older.

A law requiring secure storage of guns is even more popular, according to the Tennessean/Siena College poll, with 73% overall supporting the measure. Political party support remains the same, but popularity among age groups flips, with more people aged 18 to 34 supporting the measure than any other age group.

The GOP-dominated Tennessee General Assembly has continually refused to advance most proposed gun reform measures, passing incremental legislation in an August special session to encourage safe storage while avoiding tying legal penalties to the issue.

Gov. Bill Lee failed earlier this year to push forward an extreme risk protection order law in the wake of the Covenant School shooting in March and has since said he won’t take up the effort again in 2024. He avoided the term red-flag law, and said his proposal was notably different than those in other states.

Despite elected Republicans’ reticence to act, support for similar proposals is widespread and consistent. Siena's polling largely matches new polling from Vanderbilt, which found in a December survey that 76% of Tennessee voters would support both a red flag law and safe storage requirements for guns stored in cars.

Voices for a Safer Tennessee, a nonpartisan, nonprofit pushing for “common sense” gun safety laws in the state, said the Siena poll results reflect the coalition they’ve seen across the Volunteer State in the wake of the Covenant School shooting.

Erin Rogus, the group's policy director, said a wide range of Tennesseans have agreed on “really pragmatic, evidence-based solutions that are hard to argue with.”

“We’re finding these views are shared regardless of the location in Tennessee,” Rogus said. “Our work now is engaging this large group of individuals who maybe haven’t found a policy home previously to express their views here, to share with legislators that they do strongly support pragmatic and evidence-based solutions. Their support for the 2nd Amendment is not incompatible with responsible gun ownership.”

Still, advocates have their work cut out for them convincing some residents and lawmakers of the need for new laws.

Kevin Cumana, a 29-year-old West Tennessee resident, was among the poll respondents to disagree with additional gun safety measures.

“It’s something that has been heavily debated given the tragedies that we’re seeing in the schools,” Cumana said. “For me, that’s a fundamental Constitutional right to bear arms. Increasing access and lowering regulations, I’m in favor of that.”

Cumana, a Republican, did join bipartisan support for a separate issue: medical marijuana and cannabis legalization.

“I think there have been an egregious amount of people who have done hard time for something that is grown on this planet,” Cumana said.

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Almost 80% of Tennesseans polled agree with Cumana that medical marijuana should be legal. A smaller majority, 61%, think recreational cannabis should be legalized.

Tennesseans are not just in agreement on gun safety and cannabis issues: Support for additional exceptions to the state’s strict abortion ban are also highly supported by both Democrats and Republicans.

A significant majority, 70%, support accepting federal funds to expand Medicaid.

“We have a representative democracy, we debate issues during an election and then we turn it over to our representatives,” Levy said. “Polling at least gives us the opportunity to give a thumbs up or thumbs down on issues being debated by our representatives. When we find cases, like we found in this poll, where a majority of Tennesseans are in agreement on a policy or legislative action that is not being taken, that foregrounds the issue and necessitates that our representatives respond.”

Tennesseans in it for the long haul, but tepid on infrastructure and healthcare

The vast majority, 90%, of Tennesseans polled say they're likely to be living in the state for at least the next five years,

Nearly 80% voted the quality of life in Tennessee as either excellent or good. A majority, 61%, of respondents felt they could access quality health care.

When asked if they had enough savings to handle a $1,000 emergency without going into debt, 61% agreed they could.

Still, the poll found worrisome signs about some aspects of how residents view life in Tennessee.

“You have an interesting state – people say everybody is friendly, the weather is great, but then the 'buts' start flying in,” Levy said.

The survey found 56% found the quality of state infrastructure like roads and bridges to be only fair or poor, while 66% rated the availability of affordable housing to be fair or poor.

Meanwhile, a slim majority would support state lawmakers cutting Tennesseans’ sales tax instead of continuing to pad Tennessee’s $2-billion rainy day fund with surplus revenues.

“This survey implies to me that it may not be raining, but it’s certainly drizzling,” Levy said.

Reach Melissa Brown at mabrown@tennessean.com.

Tennessean/Siena College poll crosstabs

Portrait of a Tennessean Poll by USA TODAY Network on Scribd

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessean-Siena College poll: TN residents not aligned with lawmakers