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).

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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.

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