Poll Shows Trump Losing Support in Tennessee
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Poll Shows Trump Losing Support in Tennessee
By Shane Gilreath
SCN Contributing Editor
[email protected]
The May 19th election results delivered another sign that President Donald Trump may be losing some of the political grip he once held across the region. While Tennessee remains strongly Republican, recent polling and election outcomes suggest growing frustration among conservative voters — even within Trump’s own base.
The most closely watched race came just north of the border in Kentucky, where longtime Congressman Thomas Massie lost his Republican primary to Trump-backed challenger Ed Gallrein. On paper, the outcome was a victory for Trump, who spent months targeting Massie aggressively. Yet the deeper story may be the sizable number of Republican voters who still stood with Massie despite relentless pressure from the president and his allies.
Massie, widely regarded as one of the most conservative members of Congress, has maintained strong support among libertarian and constitutional conservative voters. Trump repeatedly attacked him online and at campaign events, attempting to frame Massie as disloyal to the MAGA movement. The administration even sent Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to campaign against the Kentucky congressman, a remarkable level of involvement for a House primary.
Even so, nearly half of Republican voters in the district still backed Massie. For many observers, that result points to cracks forming within the Republican Party. While Trump’s endorsed candidate ultimately prevailed, the race demonstrated that a substantial portion of Republican voters are increasingly willing to resist direct pressure from the White House in a state that is decidedly red.
Those warning signs align with new polling released by Vanderbilt University. According to the survey, Trump’s approval rating in Tennessee has dropped seven percentage points since November 2025, falling to 49 percent overall. Independent voters showed particularly sharp declines in support.
Economic concerns appear to be fueling much of the dissatisfaction. Rising costs for food, housing, and transportation continue weighing heavily on Tennessee families, while 78 percent of voters said the federal government should focus more on problems at home instead of foreign conflicts.
Voters are evenly split on the state’s direction, as 49 percent think Tennessee is on the wrong path, while 50 percent say it is headed in the right direction. Despite the administration pulling a 1% advantage, voters are seen as collectively more pessimistic about the country as a whole. Fifty-eight percent think the United States is on the wrong path.
“Even some voters who approve of Trump believe the United States is on the wrong track,” said Josh Clinton, co-director of the Vanderbilt Poll. “Economic stress is hitting home for Tennesseans, and that strain is evident in the growing bipartisan despondency reflected in the poll numbers.”
Almost half of respondents expressed anxiety over simply buying food, housing and transportation.
Amongst Trump’s ardent base, support remains strong, at 94 percent, but the growing number of independent voters, who largely shape the outcome of most elections, expressed very low confidence in his presidency. According to the new poll, 36 percent of registered Independents still support President Trump, down from 46 percent a year ago.
Taken together, the Kentucky results and Tennessee polling suggest a political reality Republicans may increasingly have to confront – support for Trump remains strong, but it is no longer unquestioned.
