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Opinion: Vanderbilt poll reflects national media on economy, but Tennesseans feel better about their own

Tennessee Lookout File Photo by John Partipilo / Gov. Bill Lee, pictured March 20, 2025, is approved by 58% of respondents in a recent Vanderbilt Poll.
Tennessee Lookout File Photo by John Partipilo / Gov. Bill Lee, pictured March 20, 2025, is approved by 58% of respondents in a recent Vanderbilt Poll. Tennessee Lookout File Photo by John Partipilo / Gov. Bill Lee, pictured March 20, 2025, is approved by 58% of respondents in a recent Vanderbilt Poll.

By Clint Cooper 3 min read

We’re not surprised a recent Vanderbilt poll found only 41% of Tennesseans rated the United States economy as “fairly” or “very” good.

That, after all, is what the national media is telling them.

Yet, the same poll found that 61% of poll respondents rate the state’s economy as “very” or “fairly” good.

That, after all, comes from how they feel about their personal financial situation.

National Democrats, per their own words, have chosen “affordability” as the issue on which they want to run in the 2026 midterm election. It’s ironic since the policies of Democratic President Joe Biden, who was in office for the last four years until Jan. 20, 2025, caused the lack of affordability of goods and services they say is the problem.