Tennessee voters who identify as MAGA Republicans hope Trump prevails over challengers, setting stage for showdown in choosing party’s 2024 presidential nominee
Tennessee Republicans favor Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis over former President Donald Trump to be the party’s presidential nominee in 2024 by double digits, according to the latest statewide Vanderbilt Poll. Among the registered Republicans who were interviewed, DeSantis leads Trump 54 percent to 41 percent in a head-to-head matchup.
The survey of 1,180 registered Tennessee voters was conducted between Nov. 8 and Nov. 28, with a margin of error of ± 3.4 percentage points. The statewide poll is co-directed by John Geer, Ginny and Conner Searcy Dean of the College of Arts and Science and professor of political science, and Josh Clinton, Abby and Jon Winkelried Professor and professor of political science. Detailed results and methods can be found at vu.edu/poll.
The poll focused on the public’s thinking about elected officials, the 2024 election, abortion, Tennessee’s economy, education and climate change, among other topics.
Registered voters in Tennessee, it appears, are uninterested in a repeat of the 2020 presidential election, Geer and Clinton said. Among all registered voters surveyed, only 36 percent want Trump to run for U.S. president—an 8 percent decline from the December 2021 Vanderbilt Poll. Only 22 percent think President Joe Biden should run for re-election
