ONE DAY!

Tennessee will be sure to be a red state this election cycle. Although Tennessee has not been a competitive state, the Tennessean notes that "Tennessee voices are not lost in the campaign". The Tennessean claims, "the candidates have had to pay attention to Tennessee, even as they have mostly skipped the state in their travels across the country." Even if they have had to pay attention, Tennessee will be a safe McCain state on Tuesday.

10 days to go!

Tennessee has been an active state in this election cycle with potential nominee, Fred Thompson, and one of the three debates being held in Nashville at Belmont University. However, the state will remain a red one when it is all said and done on November 4th. Obama's massive fundraising strides will not allow him to capture this southern, traditionally Republican state. The current polls and electoral maps find McCain in comfortable standing. The Tennessean highlighted yesterday top state Senate races, with a current Senate split between both parties, which may make the vote closer than usual for the presidential candidates. I will still confidently call Tennessee as "Strong McCain" with 10 days to go.

Tennesseans talking about Joe the plumber

Joe the plumber became a household name after last week's presidential debate with McCain saying his name over 20 times. He has appeared on television shows, in newspapers, and all over the internet. The Tennessean reported that "Middle Tennessee 'Joe the plumbers' pipe up on debate".  In interviewing a few Joe's that are also plumbers in Tennessee, the newspaper got a sense that the questions initiated by Joe the plumber to Obama has stirred up conversations about Obama's tax plans to many people who usually have not paid attention to the election in the past. While some argue that McCain will actually be hurt by the use of his Joe the plumber example because of the scrutiny Joe has gotten since the debate, it seems as though it is getting people more interested in the candidates positions. 

Was Nashville boring?

The front page of the Drudge report this morning said one simple word in describing last night's debate at Belmont University: "Boring". Real Clear Politics reported a Newsweek article about the debate titled "The Nashville Debate: McCain and Obama Sing the Same Old Tune". While both Obama and McCain had certain strong points in the debate last night, the overall consensus seems to be that not much of anything will come out of the second debate. Obama maintained the status quo, which is all he needs to do at this point, and McCain didn't do anything to further his campaign, unlike many believe he needed.

Southern Hospitality during the debates

Both the GOP and Democrats are hosting big pre-debate, post-debate, and debate watch parties in Nashville. The second presidential debate will be held at Belmont University, and has made the politicians in Tennessee "roll out the carpet", according to the Tennessean.

Legislative races in Tennessee

Both Republican and Democratic party leaders in Tennessee are focusing this election on the state Senate, which currently is split 16-16 with one independent member. The key to their focus is on rural districts, which again is where the GOP and Democrats share a common strategy in Tennessee. There are a few seats to pay special attention to in this state, although the Tennessean reports that their is often little correlation between what people vote at the top of the ballot and what they vote at the bottom. However, I think being a presidential election year there will be an influence on the ballots Tennessean's cast this November.

A couple of lections to keep an eye on in the state of Tennessee:
1. Dolores Gresham (R) and Randy Camp (D) will fight for the seat vacated by former Senate Speaker John Wilder.
2. Becky Ruppe (D) and Ken Yager (R) taking the place of Democrat Tommy Kilby who stepped down this past session.
3. Republican race against Senator Mike Williams (I) who was formerly a Republican.

All of these elections are taking place in rural districts, which as previously mentioned is a "hot spot" for both parties to be getting out the vote. Kim Sasser Hayden, the Democratic executive director, told The Tennessean that she did not believe the GOP was having the same grassroots efforts as the Democrats.

Obama's Fundraising

Tennessee, a state to be seen as "Solid McCain" this election cycle, is seeing interesting numbers when it comes to fundraising for the Democratic Party. The Tennessean reported this weekend that McCain and Obama have nearly the same amount of contributions coming out of the red state. Even though this may not make a difference in the state of Tennessee, this shows the clear advantage of the Obama campaign in terms of fundraising. If Obama's camp can inspire people even in an almost hopeless state for handing over the Electoral votes to the Democratic party, what will this mean for his fundraising efforts in the states that really matter? As we all know, money can be key to winning an election because it allows for more advertising and GOTV efforts. While many people may not take a second look at Tennessee in this seemingly predictable election for the state, it may be beneficial for McCain to take a closer look.