Bredesen leads Blackburn 46-43 in new poll

A new independent poll finds Democrat Phil Bredesen with a narrow lead over Republican Marsha Blackburn in the U.S. Senate race in Tennessee.

Bredesen had the support of 46%, compared with 43% for Blackburn and 11% undecided, according to the Mason-Dixon poll released Wednesday. The telephone poll of 625 registered voters has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

Bredesen polled ahead of Blackburn by 13 percentage points in West Tennessee and 7 points in Middle Tennessee. Blackburn was ahead by 9 points in East Tennessee.

The poll found a preference for Bredesen among women (+11 points), people under age 50 (+9 points), African-Americans (+83 points), and independents (+14 points). Blackburn was ahead among men (+6 points) and whites (+14 points).

Only 4% of self-identified Democrats said they supported Blackburn, while 12% of Republicans said they preferred Bredesen.

Bredesen was seen favorably by 43% and unfavorably by 18%, while Blackburn had a favorable/unfavorable ratio of 35%-26%.