In addressing the Farm Bureau in Tennessee on Monday, President Trump found himself in a state where the U.S. Senate race has become a top priority — and a very winnable target — for Democrats.
When Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., a frequent Trump antagonist, announced his retirement last fall, it was widely assumed swashbuckling Trump ally and Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., was a cinch for the Republican nomination and general election for senator in 2018.
Not so fast, state and national Democrats countered. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee released a poll in late October showing Phil Bredesen, former two-term governor and one of the most popular Democrats in the Volunteer state, defeating Blackburn by a margin of 46-41 percent statewide.
Perhaps most significantly, Bredesen, 74 and a self-styled "centrist" Democrat, led the conservative stalwart Blackburn by a margin of 48-31 percent among Independent voters.
A month after the poll was completed, Bredesen, who served as governor from 2002-10, decided to emerge from retirement and make the race.
At the same time, a Vanderbilt University poll last month showed Trump's approval rating in Tennesse dropping form 60 percent in November 2016 to 48 percent at the end of 2017.
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
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