Blue Wave Hits Deep-Red Tennessee As Democratic Senate Candidate Takes 10-Point Lead

The blue wave threatening to wipe Republicans out of Congress is heading toward Tennessee, with a new poll showing the Democratic Senate candidate taking a 10-point lead over his Republican opponent.

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According to the new survey conducted by Middle Tennessee State University, Democratic candidate Phil Bredesen leads his Trump-supporting GOP opponent Marsha Blackburn 45 percent to 35 percent.

More from the MTSU Poll:

In the race for U.S. Senate, 45 percent of Tennessee registered voters said they would choose Bredesen if the election were held tomorrow, while 35 percent said they would select Blackburn. Another 17 percent said they weren’t sure, and the rest declined to answer.
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Dr. Jason Reineke, associate director of the poll, said Bredesen appears significantly more successful at attracting voters from outside his own party than Blackburn is at attracting voters from outside hers.

The results of the poll are particularly notable because they show how toxic it is to be associated with Trump. After all, Blackburn embraced Trump and even asked him to come campaign with her.

GOP appeal is narrow, while Democratic appeal is broad

The Tennessee Senate race seems to be a microcosm of what’s happening all across the country – Democrats are competing anywhere and everywhere, while Republicans run scared.

As the Tennessee poll also noted, 20 percent of Republican voters have crossed over and said they’ll vote for the Democratic candidate in November. Just five percent of Democrats said they’ll do the same for the GOP candidate.

In 2018, Democrats can (and will) compete, not just in big cities and coasts, but in historically red regions of the country, like Tennessee – a state Trump won by more than 25 points.

Meanwhile, Republicans will be lucky if they’re able to hold onto some of the most conservative seats.

It’s why Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said this week that the 2018 midterms could be a “category 3, 4 or 5” hurricane for the GOP – hardly a vote of confidence from one of the most powerful Republicans in the country.

In the age of Donald Trump, Republicans have boxed themselves in as the party of extremists and conspiracy theorists. They appeal to a small and shrinking fraction of the country.

Democrats, on the other hand, have the ability to appeal more broadly, welcoming in both progressive and more moderate voters, as the recent special election in Pennsylvania showed.

Embracing Donald Trump may have worked in the short term, but it woke up the millions of Americans who stayed home in 2016. They won’t be making the same mistake in 2018, and that should terrify Republicans.

Sean Colarossi

Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.