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Poll: Who is more popular in Tennessee, Donald Trump or Bob Corker?

The MTSU poll was conducted after a feud ignited between the President and the Tennessee Senator.

The feud between President Donald Trump and U.S. Sen. Bob Corker may have hurt the former Chattanooga mayor's support back home, according to a new poll released Thursday by Middle Tennessee State University.

The poll found 41 percent of those surveyed disapprove of Corker, 14-points higher than a poll released earlier this year.

Overall, 45 percent of respondents support Corker, down from 52 percent in a February poll.

Disapproval of Trump in Tennessee — where he won 92 of 95 counties in last year's general election — has also increased to 40 percent, 1 percentage point behind Corker. In February, 32 percent of those surveyed disapproved of Trump.


Meanwhile, 50 percent of respondents said they approved of Trump, down 1 percentage point from the February poll.

“It appears that Trump has generally weathered the conflict better than Corker among Tennesseans, with the exception of self-identified Democrats who strongly favor Corker,” said Jason Reineke, associate director of the poll.

The poll, conducted Oct. 16-23, surveyed 600 registered Tennessee voters and has a margin of error plus or minus 4 percentage points.

The survey began just over a week after Corker and Trump engaged in a public feud via Twitter, in which the senator said the White House had "become an adult day care center." The MTSU poll ended one day before Trump and Corker's latest public feud, which reignited on Monday.

That's when Trump said Corker "couldn't get elected dog catcher." Corker tweeted back, "Same untruths from an utterly untruthful president."

In the midst of the latest feud, Corker, who on Sept. 26 said he would not seek a third term, maintained in a CNN interview this week that his popularity in Tennessee remains high — a point which the MTSU poll calls to question.


Corker's staff has not responded to a request for a copy of their latest internal polling.

The MTSU poll found 68 percent of those surveyed had read or heard "some" or "a lot" about the Corker-Trump fracas, while 31 percent said they had read or heard "only a little" or "nothing at all until now."

Among those who said they knew some or a lot about the feud, 40 percent said they disapprove of Corker while approving of the president. On the flip side, 34 percent said they approved of Corker and disapproved of Trump.

Fifteen percent said they approved of both Corker and Trump, while another 12 percent said they disapproved of both.

Beyond Trump and Corker, approval of U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander remains at 45 percent, the same amount he had in February. Disapproval of Alexander has increased slightly to 35 percent, up three percent from earlier this year.

Tennessean's support of Congress has plummeted in the last eight months, with just 13 percent of respondents having a favorable view and 73 percent giving disapproval.

In February 21 percent of respondents approved of Congress, with 60 percent having a negative view.

Support for Gov. Bill Haslam remains high in the latest poll, which has his approval rating at 56 percent, one percent lower than the February survey. His disapproval is at 23 percent, the same it was earlier this year.

Approval of the Tennessee legislature is currently at 48 percent, down two percent. Disapproval of the General Assembly is at 26 percent, down one percent.

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