Democrat nominee for governor, Karl Dean said Friday he wasn’t surprised by the results of the joint NBC/Marist College poll which said the former Nashville mayor was trailing his Republican opponent, Bill Lee, by 13 points.

The poll, which was released Thursday afternoon, found 53 percent of likely voters surveyed supported Lee, compared to 40 percent for Dean. Seven percent of the respondents were undecided.

Dean spent his Friday in Knoxville making multiple stops. He answered questions after his first stop, at the Beck Cultural Exchange Center.

“I’m aware of the recent poll (that says) we’re down 13 points,” he said. “I’m not alarmed by that. I think that’s close to where I thought we’d be and what we have to do with the time we have, which I think is more than enough time, is continue to get our message out, talk about the issues, engage with Mr. Lee and let the voters decide.

More:Lee with double-digit lead over Dean in NBC/Marist poll

“I think at the end of the day we’ll be in good shape,” he continued.

The NBC/Marist poll, conducted over a three-day period starting Aug. 25, surveyed 538 likely voters.

The new poll is among the first to be released since Lee and Dean became the nominees of their respective parties.

Other key findings from the survey, include:

Lee has a significant advantage over Dean among male respondents, with 60 percent of those surveyed saying they'd vote for him. Thirty-two percent of male respondents said they've vote for Dean, while 7 percent were undecided;

Among women, Lee and Dean were tied, with each receiving 46 percent support from female respondents;

Lee is leading Dean among independents, with 51 percent of such respondents saying they'd vote for the Williamson County businessman compared to 38 percent for the former Nashville mayor.

Day in Knoxville

Dean said his trip to Knoxville was another opportunity to meet voters and explain how he feels about major issues.

“I think the campaign is going very well, I mean I do think people are responding to the idea that pragmatism and getting things done (with a) sense of moderation is vital,” he said. “I think people understand that there are real differences between my opponent and myself and that it’s important that those differences be noticed and discussed.”

Dean’s roughly 22-minute stump speech was what you would expect from the Democrat. He spoke about how public education and public safety are connected, and how a good education system is connected to getting good paying jobs and attracting businesses.

He continued to say the state made a monumental mistake when it failed to approve of Gov. Bill Haslam’s Medicaid expansion program and said he would push to get a new agreement for the state.

He said he respects the Second Amendment, but doesn’t support arming teachers or allowing college students to have guns on campus, which he said Lee supports.

Dean was introduced by Rev. Harold Middlebrook who took the microphone and told the audience that a blue wave is happening.

“Change is happening,” he said. “People are saying we’re tired, we don’t have to put up with all of this.”

The Tennessean’s Joel Ebert contributed to this report.