This morning, at Swett’s, three uncommitted superdelegates committed to Senator Barack Obama. They were Governor Phil Bredesen, TN Democratic Party chair Gray Sasser, and Inez Crutchfield. This comes after Barack Obama was declared the presumptive Democratic nominee for President. The overall message, Democrats were trying to get out is more or less a “united we stand, divided we fall” kind of deal. Hillary Clinton won the primary here handily, and the Governor believes that if she were on the ticket, it would help here in Tennessee.
But is Tennessee really in play? I didn’t even live in the state back in 2000, but you had to be deaf to have not heard the comment “Al Gore didn’t even carry his home state” on every cable network imaginable. George W. Bush also took Tennessee by a wide margin back in 2004. The governor believes at this point, Tennessee is probably not in play. But, he believes that is “changeable.” He stressed that he appeals to swing voters and some Republican-leaning voters, and that is ready and will to talk to them about Barack Obama. Sasser pointed to the fact that Bredesen did win every county in this state during the last election as proof that this state can vote for Democrats. TN GOP chair Robin Smith says several different polls show her that the state is trending toward McCain, and doesn’t expect that to change. She says that she heard from several people who were not Republicans who showed up at the Ryman, people that told her they can’t vote for Barack Obama.
Meanwhile, Vanderbilt Political Scientist Bruce Oppenheimer thinks that John McCain and Barack Obama likely have determined this state is NOT in play. However, he says if we start seeing a lot of ads on the air and campaign stops from both candidates, then the tide has turned. If that happens, he thinks it would have national implications, indicating a landslide defeat for McCain. He says in the current environment, this state should go red once again.
