Today, Beacon released our first Beacon Poll, the first of many quarterly surveys asking Tennessee voters how they feel about a variety of issues. Groups and politicians conduct polls all the time, giving us a glimpse into voters’ perspectives on elections and pressing issues. But there is no consistent statewide survey that accurately assesses where Tennesseans stand on matters impacting their lives on an ongoing basis. Until now.
Once per quarter, the Beacon Poll will track how voters feel about the direction of our nation and our state, as well as within important arenas like education and healthcare. We will ask about the job performance of state leaders like the governor and legislature. And as election season heats up, we will ask who they plan to vote for to give you a sense of where the state is heading politically.
Along the way, we will also ask about issues that Tennesseans care about most. Too many political polls ask only about typical topics—guns, abortion, and “the economy”—without getting into other important issues that are very likely on voters’ minds. Perhaps voters care more about paying their rent, accessing healthcare, and getting their children a quality education. We will ask about these issues to determine how they are impacting Tennesseans’ daily lives. And we will delve deeper into broader topics like the economy to see how they feel about their economic prospects and how ups and downs in the economy impact them.
Aside from breaking from the standard political polling approach, we will also present all of this information on a website where you can explore the results in an open, transparent format. You will be able to track trends over time, such as how voters feel about the direction of the nation or the state now versus last year. You will be able to break down questions into more detail, like how Republicans feel about their access to affordable healthcare or what percentage of Democrats support school choice.
By placing this information at your fingertips, we can give you an important tool to learn how your fellow Tennesseans feel about hot topics and important policy issues in our state. Our first poll results will soon be live. You can find out where Tennesseans stand on questions such as:
- Who they plan to vote for in next year’s presidential election.
- Whether the economy will enter into a recession over the next year.
- What percentage of Tennesseans struggle to pay their rent or mortgage.
- The job performance of the state legislature this past year, including voters’ thoughts on the expulsions of two representatives for protesting for gun control in violation of House rules.
- What percentage of Tennesseans stopped drinking Bud Light due to its recent controversial marketing campaign.
- How Tennesseans feel about public education and school choice.
You can find all of our poll results once they are publicly released this Thursday at www.beaconpoll.com.