76% of Tennesseans want Confederate bust removed from Capitol, Vanderbilt Poll finds

Natalie Allison | Nashville Tennessean

An overwhelming majority of both Republicans and Democrats in Tennessee say the bust of a Confederate general and early Ku Klux Klan leader should be removed from the state Capitol, according to the results of the most recent Vanderbilt Poll.

The university's poll found that 76% of voters, with majorities from both parties, said the bust of Nathan Bedford Forrest should no longer be on display in the Capitol.

Of those who believe Forrest's bust should be removed, 47% said it belongs in a museum, while 29% feel it should not be on display anywhere.

"Only 20% of the state thinks it should be displayed at the state legislature, and only 35% of Republicans," said John Geer, a Vanderbilt University political science professor and the poll's director.

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Geer said moving the bust to a museum, such as the Tennessee State Museum, "has quite a bit of support across all partisan groups."

The poll, conducted between Nov. 19 and Dec. 5, surveyed 1,000 demographically representative registered voters in Tennessee. Its margin of error is plus or minus 3.8 percentage points. Of the respondents, 36% identified as Republican, 30% as Democrats, 23% as independents and 10% as something else.

The Forrest bust has been a source of contention since it was installed in the Capitol in 1978, though protests of the bust have intensified in recent years, prompting demonstrations and arrests at the Capitol.

While the poll described Forrest as a "Confederate Cavalry general and founder of the KKK," Forrest was not the white supremacist terrorist group's founder, but rather its first "Grand Wizard," a top leader.

A slave trader before the war, Forrest eventually left the Klan. He is noted by some historians to have spoken in favor of racial reconciliation later in life.

Last week, two members of House Republican leadership told The Tennessean it was time for the Forrest bust to be removed. Both caucus chairman Jeremy Faison, R-Cosby, and vice-chairman Brandon Ogles, R-Franklin, cited concern for their black colleagues as part of the reason the memorial should be taken down.

Faison suggested adding more tributes in the Capitol to women or people of color rather than white men.

Other highlights from the fall poll include:

Respondents said state government's top priority should be education, followed by health care.

7% of voters have "a great deal" of confidence in the state legislature, though 54% have a "fair amount." Meanwhile, 20% of respondents reported having a great deal of confidence in Gov. Bill Lee, who is completing his first year in office.

68% of Tennesseans support raising the legal age to buy cigarettes and tobacco products from age 18 to 21.

Of topics respondents perceived as being a large problem in their communities, 69% said that issues caused by drug and alcohol addiction are the biggest concern.

54% of Tennesseans say the U.S. Supreme Court's 1973 ruling in Roe v. Wade, establishing a constitutional right to an abortion, should be upheld. That number increased from 51% in May. Of those who believe it should be overturned, 65% said Tennessee should spend time and money passing a restrictive law that could be struck down in an effort to take the case back to the U.S. Supreme Court.

86% of respondents are in favor of laws to prevent people with mental illness from purchasing firearms, while the same number supports making private gun sales and sales at gun shows subject to background checks.

51% of respondents support a ban on assault-style weapons. 68% are in favor of a database that would track all gun sales.

28% of Tennesseans report having unpaid medical bills, 53% having credit card debt, 51% a car loan, 55% a home mortgage and 26% a student loan.

24% of respondents said they have postponed getting health care in the last year because of the cost, while 10% said they postponed care because there were no doctors nearby who accepted their insurance.

In Tennessee's 2020 U.S. Senate race, Democrat James Mackler's name recognition was at 9%; Republican Bill Hagerty at 41% and Republican Manny Sethi at 6%.

Reach Natalie Allison at nallison@tennessean.com. Follow her on Twitter at @natalie_allison.

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