Polling released Thursday morning to The Tennessee Star shows Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) is the early favorite to secure the Tennessee Republican Party’s nomination for governor next year, with Blackburn securing more than 60 percent of the vote in a hypothetical primary race.
The polling was conducted by Fabrizio, Lee and Associates, the polling firm run by Tony Fabrizio and David Lee, which has polled for President Donald Trump and his presidential campaigns since 2016.
It found Blackburn remains extremely popular among Republican primary voters, with the pollsters describing Blackburn’s ratings as “extremely high.” They found 82 percent of likely Republican primary voters hold a favorable opinion of the senator, compared to just 12 percent who hold a negative opinion.
Blackburn boasts similarly high job approval ratings, with 84 percent of likely Tennessee Republican primary voters telling the pollsters they approve of her work in the U.S. Senate, compared to just 11 percent who said the opposite.
The high approval and favorability ratings, combined by her name recognition among 99 percent of those polls, may have contributed to her substantial lead against U.S. Representative John Rose (R-TN-06), who expressed interest in a gubernatorial campaign last April, in the Fabrizio, Lee and Associates poll.
The pollsters wrote that Blackburn holds, “a commanding lead in a hypothetical” race against Rose, as they found the senator would receive 71 percent of the primary vote in a two-man race against Rose, who would receive 13 percent of the vote.
Should Trump endorse Blackburn in the primary contest, her share of the vote would increase to 78 percent, while Rose’s would decrease to 11 percent, giving the senator a 67-point lead in the survey.
Blackburn confirmed earlier this month that she is “strongly considering” running for governor next year, when Governor Bill Lee is term-limited and cannot seek a third term.
The senator’s interest in the race already appears to be narrowing the field, as Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs recently said that her entrance in the race would preclude him from joining the fray. Jacobs followed up the statement with a post to X, where he said that Blackburn has his endorsement, should she decide to enter the race.
First elected to the Senate in 2018, Blackburn was reelected by an overwhelming margin last November, when she won by a nearly 30-point margin against State Senator Gloria Johnson (D-Knoxville).
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
First get the epstein list of clients, collaborators, flight logs revealed public Senator, please !
Many intet bloggers are trying to get Tucker to interview Maxwell, please make it happen,
it will be epic.
Keep up the great work
I would prefer that she remain as a US Senator, where she does and amazing job.
She needs to retire.