Trump's felony conviction increases his support in Tennessee, new polls shows

Former president Donald Trump's felony conviction over hush money payments to a adult film star has increased his support in Tennessee, according a new poll released Monday.

The guilty verdict on 34 felonies for falsifying documents related to his alleged affair with porn actress Stormy Daniels made 34% of Tennesseans more likely to vote for Trump in November, the Beacon Center of Tennessee's poll found, with 22% less likely to.

The poll was conducted before the assassination attempt on Saturday at Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania.

The conviction boost is likely tied to Trump's continued insistence his case, in which he was convicted by a full jury, was politically motivated.

The Beacon poll found 57% of Tennesseans believed the trial was politically motivated, compared to 32% who did not. Yet, Tennesseans were almost evenly split on whether Trump committed the crimes he has been convicted of in New York.

"A substantial percentage of Tennesseans believe that the charges were political but also believe he did commit a felony," Beacon spokesperson Mark Cunningham said. "While some voters who say they are more likely to vote for Trump after the conviction were already Trump voters, it's clear that Trump did gain a number of voters since the last poll, with the lion's share defecting from Robert F. Kennedy, Jr."

Beacon, a conservative think tank, polled Tennesseans between June 20 and July 1, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.7 percentage points.

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Blackburn lead jumps

U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tennessee, continues to expand a commanding lead in the state's sole statewide race this election cycle, according to the Beacon polling.

Though the Democratic candidate hasn't been decided, Beacon polled Blackburn in two hypothetical match-ups. Against state Rep. Gloria Johnson, D-Knoxville, Blackburn led 52% to 32%.

Against Democrat Marquita Bradshaw, the 2020 Democratic U.S. Senate nominee, Blackburn polled 54% to Bradshaw's 33%.

The Democratic polling numbers are in line with what the party's nominee has garnered in the last two statewide elections. In the 2022 governor's race, the Democratic nominee won 32.9% of the vote. In 2020, Bradshaw secured 35.2% in her loss to U.S. Bill Hagerty, R-Tennessee.

Beacon noted that despite Blackburn's decisive lead, both Democrats in the race are outperforming President Joe Biden in the state.

Voters sour on sports stadium tax infusion

Amid rumors that a Major League Baseball team might move to Nashville, Beacon polled voters on the potential public dollars going toward a new stadium.

The idea was unpopular across the board, irrespective of political party or geographic location.

When asked if state tax dollars should be used to fund the construction of a new MLB stadium, 58% opposed the idea with only 27% supporting it. More than 55% of Republicans, Democrats and independents either somewhat or strongly opposed the idea.

The idea is also unpopular among Middle Tennesseans, with 59% opposing it.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Beacon Center poll: Trump's felony conviction boosts his support