(The Center Square) – The semiannual Vanderbilt Poll shows 94% of respondents oppose cuts to Social Security and veterans programs and 97% oppose Medicare cuts.
Just 89% of the 1,223 residents questioned April 17-27 said they were against cuts to Medicaid, a program that covers health care for low-income residents, according to the poll results released Thursday.
Cuts to the federal programs are one issue that Republicans, Democrats and independent voters agreed on, with the lowest opposition coming from Republicans who identified as MAGA.
“In today’s polarized environment, the focus often falls solely on disagreements, and certainly disagreements exist on issues like immigration and deportation,” said John Geer, codirector of the Vanderbilt Poll, senior advisor to Chancellor Daniel Diermeier, professor of political science and holder of a Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Chair. “However, I believe it’s equally important, as this poll highlights, to recognize areas of agreement across partisan lines, whether someone identifies as a MAGA Republican, Democrat or Independent. The data suggests widespread opposition to cutting these programs, even among individuals on opposite sides of the political spectrum.”
Support for deporting people not in the country legally was also high across party lines, with 51% backing the deportation of those with no criminal record and 37% opposing it. Respondents were more in favor of deporting undocumented residents with criminal records with 73% saying they supported it and 14% saying they did not. The numbers changed since the fall 2024 poll, where 84% said they backed deporting undocumented residents with criminal records, and 9% opposed.
The poll was taken before a joint operation between Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Tennessee Highway Patrol that led to the arrest of 84 people not in the U.S. legally, according to the federal agency. The arrests have led to protests and questions from the Metro Nashville City Council during a meeting held Wednesday night.
Opposition to other federal cuts was also high, with 68% saying they oppose cutting for national parks, 73% disagreeing with reductions in money for research at teaching hospitals, and 71% disapproving of cutting funding for research on diseases. Democrats had the highest opposition to research cuts while MAGA Republicans were less likely to not support the cuts.
