Tennessee Senate Race: Marsha Blackburn wins big over Phil Bredesen after NBC called it a ‘tight race’

Tennessee Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R) has defeated former Gov. Phil Bredesen in Tennessee, shocking may Democrats’ hopes for taking control of the Senate.

Marsha Blackburn

Blackburn will fill the seat vacated by Sen. Bob Corker’s (R-Tenn.) retirement.

Blackburn pulled ahead of Bredesen after the Senate’s divisive hearing over Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, which polarized the electorate in Tennessee and other battleground states that voted for President Trump. This was particularly a shocking issue after the resolution that the accusers lied.

While the electorate is still pending, Blackburn is leading Bredesen 61%-37%.

Were the polls and predictors wrong?

Here’s NBC yesterday:  “Tennessee is looking at a tight Senate race on Tuesday, with former Gov. Phil Bredesen, a popular moderate Democrat with an independent streak, and Rep. Marsha Blackburn, a conservative Republican representing a largely rural district who has aligned herself wholeheartedly with President Donald Trump, running neck and neck in the race to replace retiring GOP Sen. Bob Corker.”

Tight race?

“It’s tight because Phil Bredesen is a singularly popular Democrat in this state. I think any other Democrat would be behind by 15 to 20 points,” Anthony Nownes, a professor at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, told NBC News. “Few voters associate Bredesen with the national Democratic Party, and he has worked hard to present himself to voters as a competent problem-solver rather than a partisan. He has bona fides because as governor he was very centrist.”

Uh no.