Fewer Tennesseans call themselves Republicans

The Middle Tennessee State University spring poll released Tuesday found that 33 percent of respondents identify themselves as Democrats, 31 percent consider themselves Republicans and 22 percent claim to be independent.

That compares with the 35 percent that took the Republican label in 2004, when Bush won handily in Tennessee with 57 percent of the vote. Twenty-nine percent that year said they were Democrats and 23 percent independent.

Bush’s approval rating is 34 percent, down from 40 percent in October and 42 percent a year ago, the poll found.

The poll of 554 Tennesseans was conducted Feb. 6-17 and has a sampling error margin of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

“Tennessee, once solidly Republican, may be shifting toward the blue end of the spectrum, indicating a swing toward the Democrats and more centrist or liberal values,” the poll report says.

Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Bob Davis took issue with the poll’s findings on party affiliation.

“I’d say the conclusions that were drawn from that particular poll are ridiculous,” he said. “I’d say until Democrats start to run individuals who have conservative values they won’t win here in Tennessee.”

Tennessee Democratic Party spokesman Wade Monday said he believed the poll was reflective of the national support for the Democratic Party catching on in Tennessee.

“I think the trend that the poll shows that there are more Democrats in Tennessee who see the failure of the Bush administration,” he said.

Robert Wyatt, the director of The Survey Group at Middle Tennessee State University, which oversees the poll, said he thinks voters feel Republicans have not done enough to address the most pressing issues to them.