NASHVILLE — Early voting in the Aug. 5 Republican and Democratic primaries is less than five months away, but only three out of four Tennessee adults now have a clue about who is running for governor, according to the latest Middle Tennessee State University Poll released Wednesday.
Other poll findings show that, for the first time, a majority of Tennesseans, 51 percent, do not approve of President Obama’s job performance. And while 29 percent of Tennesseans hold a favorable opinion of the Tea Party movement, only 9 percent identify themselves as members.
The MTSU poll, conducted by the College of Mass Communication, surveyed 634 adult Tennesseans from Feb. 15-27. The poll, which included registered voters and nonregistered respondents, has an estimated margin of error of plus or minus 4 percent.
It found 73 percent of adults couldn’t name any gubernatorial candidates when asked to list as many as they could recall. Nineteen percent named Republican Bill Haslam, the Knoxville mayor, giving him what MTSU poll officials said was the “dubious” distinction of being the “least unknown” among the four Republican and two Democratic candidates.
Ten percent of poll respondents named U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp, R-Tenn. Four percent or less named Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, R-Blountville, Shelby County District Attorney Bill Gibbons, former state House Majority Leader Kim McMillan, D-Clarksville, and Democratic businessman Mike McWherter, of Jackson.
Mr. Haslam has just concluded a flurry of television and radio advertising that ran from Feb. 12 through Feb. 28 — coinciding with most of the survey. He is the only candidate to have run TV ads.
“It (Haslam’s poll showing) is almost undeniably because he was advertising heavily on television” during the time of the survey, said Dr. Ken Blake, director of the MTSU Poll and an associate professor of journalism.
He noted most Tennesseans remain focused on the economy and national issues at this point and won’t zero in on the gubernatorial contest until much later.
Even when mentioned one at a time by name, none of the gubernatorial candidates was recognized by a majority of Tennesseans. U.S. Rep. Wamp, a Chattanoogan, had the highest name identification with 45 percent of respondents saying they recognized his name when it was read to them.
Of that, 10 percent said they supported him, 10 percent said they opposed him and 25 percent had no opinion.
Congressman Wamp, who last year led in name recognition, said, “I don’t know how scientific it is” when asked about the poll. “I’m in real good shape. I guarantee that. You’re not even polling registered voters. You’re way off the reservation.”
Forty-two percent of Tennesseans said they recognized Mr. Haslam’s name. Of that, 12 percent said they supported him, five percent said they opposed him and 25 percent had no opinion.
Other poll findings showed:
* President Obama’s job disapproval of 51 percent is up from 46 percent in the fall and 27 percent last spring, the poll found. Economic concerns seem to be driving most of the rise, MTSU researchers said. The poll found 42 percent approve of the president while 7 percent are undecided.
* He may be a lame duck, but in volatile economic times when many politicians have fallen into disfavor, a slim majority of Tennessee poll respondents — 52 percent — said they approve of the job Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen is doing, a figure identical to where he stood last spring. That is down slightly — but within the poll’s error margin — compared to his 56 percent approval rating in this past fall’s MTSU Poll.
* Approval of the Tennessee Legislature remains low. But lawmakers may take some solace, because public disdain appears to be holding fairly steady. Approval is at 36 percent versus 38 percent last fall, according to the poll.