District by district – Tennessee

TENNESSEE-08

Republican candidate up by 10 points in Dem seat

{mosads}Farmer
and gospel singer Stephen Fincher was one of the National Republican
Congressional Committee’s top recruits, and he’s performing like it.

The
Hill’s 2010 Midterm Election Poll shows him leading Democrat Roy Herron
by 10 points in the race for retiring Rep. John Tanner’s (D) seat. And
14 percent of likely voters are undecided.

Independents are
breaking for Fincher 53 percent to 23, although 20 percent say they
remain undecided. The bad news for Herron is that 70 percent of
independents said their negative view of President Obama will influence
their vote in November.

Another obstacle for Herron is the 30
percent of respondents who said they had a negative view of him. That’s
likely a result of the $568,432 the NRCC has spent on TV ads against
him. Herron has run contrast spots against Fincher, but the
Republican’s unfavorable rating is only at 20 percent by comparison.

Fincher is leading among male and female voters, while younger voters are breaking toward Herron.

The
Hill’s poll was conducted Oct. 2-7, surveyed 416 likely voters via the
telephone and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.8 percent.