Americans Oppose the Expulsion of Tennessee State Representatives

May 4, 2023
Bryan Bennett

Polling data on Americans' views towards Disney, Ron Desantis, and the Tennessee lawmakers who were expelled from their seats.

Key takeaways
  • Favorability of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has declined since earlier this year, with only about one in three Americans now viewing him favorably.
  • Despite DeSantis’ attacks, nearly two in three Americans hold favorable views of Disney – including nearly half of Republicans – which is consistent with our tracking from March 2022.
  • Three in five agree the Tennessee lawmakers expelled from the state legislature “were expelled by Republican politicians who would rather protect their gun lobby donors’ bottom lines” and the lawmakers “were elected by the people they serve and should never have been expelled.”

Disney Is Much More Popular Than Ron DeSantis, Whose Standing Has Declined in Recent Weeks

DeSantis’ favorability rating has declined from net -2 favorable in early March to net -11 now.

  • By comparison, nearly two in three Americans (64%) hold favorable views of Disney, driven by hugely favorable ratings from Democrats (net +69 favorable) and independents (net +42); 43% of Republicans also view Disney favorably.
  • After recent news, views of Bud Light are mixed, with more favorable views coming from Democrats (+25) than Republicans (-28).

Despite DeSantis’ Attacks, Disney’s Favorability Remains High While DeSantis’ Favorability Has Eroded

Views of Disney have remained positive since last May, improving among independents (net +42 favorable now, up from net +32 last May), non-Fox News Republicans (net +11 now vs. net +2 then), and CNN viewers (net +67 now vs. net +57 then), while views on DeSantis are down (net -11 favorable now compared to net -4), including among Fox News-viewing Republicans (net +65 now compared to net +76).

Three in Five Agree Tennessee Lawmakers Should Never Have Been Expelled; GOP Politicians Protecting Gun Lobby Donors

Republicans disagree “this kind of behavior is symptomatic of a broader problem of Republican politicians becoming increasingly extreme” (net -39 agree) but are split on “these lawmakers were elected by the people they serve and should never have been expelled” (net -1).

Download
Toplines
Share

About The Study

Global Strategy Group conducted public opinion surveys among a sample of 1,002 registered voters from April 20-April 24, 2023. 102 additional interviews were conducted among Hispanic voters. 79 additional interviews were conducted among Asian American and Pacific Islander voters. 105 additional interviews were conducted among African American voters. 98 additional interviews were conducted among independent voters. The survey was conducted online, recruiting respondents from an opt-in online panel vendor. Respondents were verified against a voter file and special care was taken to ensure the demographic composition of our sample matched that of the national registered voter population across a variety of demographic variables.

Related Posts

READ MORE
September 24, 2026

Food for Thought: Americans Are Concerned About What’s On Their Plate

This Navigator Research report covers how Americans are viewing recent food safety issues that have dominated headlines and how they have changed what they eat because of it.

Tina Tang
September 22, 2026

Not So Tariff-ic: Support for Trump’s Trade War With Canada Is Thin 

This Navigator Research report covers Trump’s tariffs and the trade war with Canada.

Melissa Toufanian
September 17, 2026

Chatbot Curious, Data Center Skeptical

This Navigator Research report covers new research on artificial intelligence (AI) and data centers.

Julie Alderman Boudreau
September 09, 2026

Americans Are Connecting the Dots on Corruption and Costs, and They're Calling it Out 

This Navigator Research is part two in our series on how Americans view corruption and the best messages that resonate with audiences.

Tina Tang & Avery Smedley