Bredesen Holds 10-Point Lead Over Blackburn: MTSU Poll

MURFREESBORO, TN -- Former Gov. Phil Bredesen, a Democrat, leads Republican U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn by double digits in the race to replace retiring Sen. Bob Corker, according to the MTSU Poll.

If the election were held today, 45 percent of respondents said they would vote for Bredesen, the popular former governor and Metro Nashville Mayor who was last Democrat to win a statewide election. Thirty-five percent said they would vote for Blackburn with 17 percent undecided. Three percent of the 600 registered voters polled declined to answer.

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Bredesen holds a strong lead among independents - a group he traditionally grabbed in past races - with a 45-33 advantage. Bredesen was also fairly popular among Republicans in the past and the latest polling suggests that will hold true once again, with 20 percent of self-identified GOP voters saying they would vote for him. Only 5 percent of Democrats said they preferred Blackburn.

The poll included included 34 percent Republicans, 25 percent Democrats and 28 percent independents with 8 percent identifying as "something else."

Though a handful of polls have shown Bredesen with a lead in the race, this is the first with such a wide margin, particularly notable because it was conducted by a university-backed group, rather than a politically motivated firm.

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