Poll: Marsha Blackburn holds major lead among GOP voters in matchup against Bob Corker

A recently conducted poll from a political action committee supporting U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn's bid for the U.S. Senate found she had a 2-to-1 advantage among Republican primary voters over U.S. Sen. Bob Corker.

The survey, which was conducted Tuesday through Thursday, comes just days after speculation arose that Corker is reconsidering his decision to not seek a third term.

More: Uncertainty, charges of sexism rock GOP primary as Sen. Bob Corker mulls another term

In a potential head-to-head matchup among Republican primary voters, the poll found 55 percent of respondents favored Blackburn, while Corker garnered just 26 percent.

The poll, commissioned by the Committee to Defend the President, which plans to spend heavily in an effort to help Blackburn, surveyed 500 likely voters and an additional 400 Republican primary voters.

In terms of favorability among Republican voters, Blackburn has a significant lead over Corker. Sixty-percent had a favorable view of Blackburn, while 41 percent viewed Corker positively.

Conversely, 47 percent of Republican respondents had negative views of Corker, compared with 10 percent for Blackburn.

The poll, conducted by WPA Intelligence, did not ask respondents for their views on former U.S. Rep. Stephen Fincher, who ended his bid for the Republican nomination on Friday, in terms of favorability.

The survey of Republican voters had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percentage points.

Beyond questions about a Blackburn-Corker matchup, respondents also were asked about former Gov. Phil Bredesen, who is the lone Democrat running.

The poll found among likely voters, Bredesen performed better than Corker and Blackburn in terms of favorability. Forty-six percent of likely voters had a positive view of Bredesen, compared with 17 percent who had a negative view.

Among likely voters, 43 percent and 40 percent had positive views of Corker and Blackburn, respectively. Forty-seven percent of likely voters had negative views of Corker vs. Blackburn's 26 percent.

In a head-to-head matchup between Blackburn and Bredesen, 44 percent of likely voters said they favored the Brentwood Republican, while Bredesen netted 39 percent.

That was a 5 percentage point increase for Bredesen compared with the last poll the PAC commissioned. In the December poll, 43 percent of likely voters said they'd vote for Blackburn over the former Nashville mayor.

More: Blackburn would beat Bredesen in head-to-head matchup, according to poll from Trump-aligned PAC

In a matchup between Bredesen and Corker, likely voters supported the Democrat.

Forty-four percent of voters said they favored Bredesen, compared with 35 percent for Corker.

Overall, a total of 40 percent of likely voters said they identified as Republicans, 28 percent said they were Democrats and 27 percent called themselves independent/something else.

The survey of likely voters had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.

The Committee to Defend the President plans to spend $1 million on TV and digital ads and staff to help campaign for Blackburn. The organization said it would spend such money in a Republican primary should Corker enter the race.

"Whether establishment darling Bob Corker decides to run or not, Marsha Blackburn is poised to become Tennessee's next senator — and defend the Trump agenda in the Senate," said Amanda Head, a spokeswoman for the PAC.

The Committee to Defend the President is a project of Stop Hillary PAC, a super PAC that started in 2013. Last year Stop Hillary PAC changed its name to the Committee to Defend the President, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission.

Reach Joel Ebert at jebert@tennessean.com or 615-772-1681 and on Twitter @joelebert29.