NASHVILLE - Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam, a Republican, has an almost two-to-one lead over West Tennessee Democrat Mike McWherter in Tennessee's gubernatorial contest, according to an independent poll released today.
The new Rasmussen Reports automated telephone survey of likely voters shows 59 percent of voters supporting Haslam while McWherter, the son of former Gov. Ned McWherter, picked up only 31 percent.
Two percent prefer another candidate, and just 7 percent are undecided. Rasmussen says the contest remains "Solid Republican" with early voting beginning today.
The survey of 500 likely voters was conducted Oct. 7 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points with a 95 percent level of confidence, according to Rasmussen Reports.
McWherter, who only started his fall television advertising on Friday, said Monday "that people tend to wait until the last month and really focus on who they want to vote for. This is the key time to get your message out."
"Frankly," he added, "a lot of the other advertising I've seen go on I think sort of goes in one ear and out the other."
Haslam has advertised steadily since he won the Aug. 5 GOP primary.
The only other recent independent poll, conducted for Nashville's WSMV-TV in mid-September, showed 55 of 600 registered Tennessee voters said they would vote for Haslam with just 24 percent saying they would vote for McWherter.
Rasmussen Reports also says its new survey shows:
n Twenty-eight percent of Tennessee voters consider themselves part of the tea party movement. Eighty-six percent of Tea Party voters support Haslam.
n Seventy-four percent of voters view Haslam favorably, while 22 percent see him unfavorably. Rasmussen says more people - 50 percent - view McWherter unfavorably than the 43 percent who see him favorably.
n Sixty-three percent favor repeal of the national health care bill while 32 percent oppose repeal. Fifty-eight percent of respondents think Tennessee and other states should have the right to opt out of the health care bill.
Contact Andy Sher at asher@timesfreepress.com or 615-255-0550.