A poll released Wednesday shows Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) continuing to hold a double-digit lead over her likely Democratic challenger, State Representative Gloria Johnson (D-Knoxville), a member of the Tennessee Three.
The spring edition of the Vanderbilt University poll of Tennessee voters found Blackburn has the support of 51 percent of Tennesseans, placing her 11 points ahead of Johnson, who polled at 40 percent.
Blackburn received more support in the Vanderbilt poll than former President Donald Trump, who pollsters reported received the support of 49 percent of Tennesseans. President Joe Biden received support from just 29 percent of respondents.
The Vanderbilt poll of 1,003 registered voters in Tennessee was conducted between April 26 and May 9, and the university reported a margin of error of 3.4 percent.
Johnson (pictured above) and other Tennessee Three members, State Representatives Justin Jones (D-Nashville) and Justin Pearson (D-Memphis), faced expulsion in 2023 due to their participation in an anti-gun riot at the Tennessee Capitol.
While Jones and Pearson were successfully removed, Johnson narrowly avoided the same punishment. Jones and Pearson were eventually returned to office, first by local governments and then by voters in subsequent elections.
Despite the defeat of his school voucher initiative during the 2024 legislative session, the Vanderbilt poll found Governor Bill Lee continues to enjoy the support of 54 percent of Tennessee voters. Lee’s highest support is among self-identified MAGA Republicans, 83 percent of whom approve of his job performance, while just 16 percent of Democrats approve of the governor’s work.
Pollsters additionally found that just 46 percent of Tennessee voters approve of the General Assembly, down from 60 percent in 2020.
A previous poll by the Tennessee Beacon Center released in April found Blackburn with a 16-point lead over Johnson, beating the Democrat 45 percent to 29 percent.
The Blackburn campaign stated after Johnson announced last September that she was unsurprised by the development.
“While Senator Blackburn is working hard to fight back against Biden’s woke agenda, State Rep. Johnson is pushing that divisive, destructive agenda here in Tennessee. Tennesseans deserve a United States Senator who is committed to fighting for our conservative values. Senator Blackburn will continue her record of getting things done and fighting for Tennessee families,” said a spokesman for the senator.
– – –
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].
Photo “Marsha Blackburn” by Marsha Blackburn. Photo “Gloria Johnson” by Gloria Johnson.
lead should be bigger. melting face gloria is a joke.
And remember, Vanderbilt had Blackburn-Bredesen tied days before that match up
This is due to the fact that most of Tennessee is not made up of clueless liberals. That would exclude Nashville of course.
Aside from profiting off taxpayer funded nonsense, what value does any of this drivel provide? The very idea that anyone is willing to vote for the likes of Johnson should cause any reasonable person to engage in our civic responsibility to ensure she never holds public office again.