In a state that heavily favored Donald Trump, a Vanderbilt University poll says optimism in Tennessee has grown about the future of the state and country since the spring.
The university's Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions poll says more than 8 in 10 registered Tennessee voters are optimistic about the state's future, versus fewer than 7 in 10 in May. Almost 6 in 10 were optimistic about the country's future, compared to 4 in 10 this spring.
It found 67 percent approved a 2-cent per-gallon gas tax hike, 55 percent favored an 8-cent increase, and 47 were fine with a 15-cent increase, consistent with last November.
The poll of 1,005 registered Tennessee voters was taken Nov. 14-29 with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percent.
