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.

No means no: Tickets for the Belmont debates

Belmont University officials, along with the Republican and Democratic spokespersons for Tennessee have been asked over and over for tickets by the general public for the debate being held at Belmont University. Despite what people who persistently call seem to think, there will be no tickets given out to the public. One man, as reported in the Tennessean, has even put a want ad on Craig's List for a ticket. As of right now, the audience of the debate will consist of "Undecided" voters identified by the Gallup Organization, the campaigns, and Belmont students who participated in an online lottery. Even though the venue can hold a lot more people, the debate will be limited to a 500-person crowd.

Belmont University President comments on McCain's proposal

Belmont University, site for a future presidential debate, feels the pain of Ole Miss in response to McCain's proposal to postpone the debate scheduled for this Friday. The Tennessean reported today that President Bob Fisher said, “We knew from the beginning that we weren’t in control of this process, and there’s an additional piece of proof.” Ole Miss, who has apparently spent $5 million on the upcoming debate, will be anxiously awaiting the decision on whether the debate will be postponed.

A Red South...even in this election

A local online Memphis newspaper ran an article on Sunday commenting on how the south will be voting for the GOP again this election cycle. It comments on Obama's claim to run a 50 state campaign, and how this is not a realistic. Both candidates will be focusing on the states that they know will be battleground, not states like Tennessee.

50 days to go!

Tennessee, over the past few election cycles, has changed its political leanings and is not as consistently Republican and many of the other southern states. Tennessee has a Democrat as its governor, with two Republican senators. Out of the nine congressional seats Tennessee holds, four are Republicans and the remaining five are Democrats.

This election cycle, Tennessee can be seen as a "Strong McCain" state. Although it has not been in the lime light of presidential politics, regardless of its attempts to hold primaries on Super Tuesday to gain more attention, Tennessee has gotten some attention this cycle. With gossip of former Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) running for the presidency and then the short campaign of former Governor Fred Thompson (R-TN), Tennessee has made a newsworthy name for itself this election. Nonetheless, it will stick with its trend of the past two election cycles, and vote as a Republican state on November 4th.

Interestingly, Tennessee did vote in 1992 and 1996 elections as a Democratic state. This was seen by a few other southern states that are more traditionally Republican, due to former President Clinton's influence on the south. Al Gore, a native of Tennessee, was still unable to grab a Democratic endorsement from his home state when running in 2000 against President Bush.

In looking at financial support of Tennessee in Presidential elections, the National Journal states "the Nashville establishment traditionally supported Democrats in Tennessee politics, but now Nashville money has become heavily Republican: metro Nashville gave $9.3 million, mostly to Republicans, in the 2004 cycle, with $4.6 million coming from just three zip codes—37205, 37215 and 37027." As we all know, money is key to a successful presidential campaign, and with support like this from even such a consolidated area of Nashville will play a large role in influencing an election.

Paint the state red

Tennessee is seen as a Strong McCain state and the latest poll has McCain leading 50.4% to Obama's 35.7%, according to Pollster.com. This lead by McCain has been consistent since the beginning of the polling cycle and will most likely not make a drastic change before November 4th.