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By Anita Wadhwani

Tennessee Lookout

A new poll of Tennessee voters by the conservative-leaning Beacon Center finds Senator Marsha Blackburn with a 16-point lead over challenger state Rep. Gloria Johnson, the Knoxville Democrat who entered the race after gaining national attention as a member of the so-called “Tennessee Three.”

The poll also found Johnson had “made inroads” with her campaign since a similar poll was conducted in October, narrowing incumbent Blackburn’s lead by 4 points.

With seven months to go before the November general election, 26% of general voters remain undecided, the poll found.

Johnson, 61, formally announced her bid for Senate in September, months after she narrowly avoided being expelled from the Tennessee House of Representatives during proceedings that became a national spectacle after the three protested gun violence. Rep. Justin Jones, a Nashville Democrat, and Rep. Justin Jones, a Memphis Democrat, were expelled then reinstated by voters in their local districts.

Blackburn, first elected in 2018, is facing her first election to retain her Senate seat.

The poll found Blackburn, 71, continues to maintain a positive approval ratings for her job performance, with 41% of poll responders saying they approved her performance while 28% said they disapproved.

The wide ranging Beacon poll also found former President Donald Trump leads President Joe Biden by 25 points in Tennessee, a lead that shrinks to 20 points when voters were asked to consider a three-way race that includes independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.