NASHVILLE – Republican gubernatorial candidate Ron Ramsey’s 2002 vote for a 1 cent state sales tax increase as a Tennessee legislator isn’t sitting well with voters: 52 percent say they are less likely to vote for him because of that.
But a new Mason-Dixon Polling & Research survey of 625 likely voters indicates most are swallowing Democrat Mike McWherter’s ownership of a beer distributorship with far fewer reservations. Only 13 percent said it will make them less likely to vote for the Jackson businessman in November.
The poll, conducted for the Tennessee Newspaper Network, examined various lines of attack used by candidates vying in the Aug. 5 Republican primary and Nov. 2 election. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percent.
The survey found attacks by Lt. Gov. Ramsey, R-Blountville, and U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp, R-Tenn., on GOP primary front-runner Bill Haslam over a 2008 episode were having some effect.
Forty-six percent of voters said they were less likely to vote for Knoxville Mayor Haslam over allegations of gas-gouging by the Haslam family’s Pilot Travel Centers in the wake of Hurricane Ike.