The Democratic sweep of Congress is underway, and a little-known race in the heartland of Tennessee has now become competetive.
Bill Morrison, a father, a veteran, and a teacher who was nominated for Disney's Teacher of the Year award, has been busting his tail to defeat the odious Marsha Blackburn. He is poised to knock her out of Congress this year, and he needs your help.
A recent poll conducted by Penn, Schoen, and Berland shows that when told about Morrison's story and Blackburn's voting record in Congress, voters in Tennessee's 7th choose Bill Morrison over Marsha Blackburn by over 20 points.
More numbers after the jump.
From the Morrison campaign:
Respondents of a Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates poll were asked whom they would vote for if the election were held today. Forty percent said they would vote for Bill Morrison, while 47 percent favored Marsha Blackburn. The margin of error is plus or minus 5.4 percent.
Let's get that out of the way first. If there is any bad news, that's it. That alone represents a significant boost in Morrison's numbers, which means that he's got the momentum to keep pushing it up. But before you begin to doubt, have a look at this:
Morrison for Tennessee
CONFIDENTIAL
A recent poll conducted by Penn, Schoen, and Berland Accosicate has revealed unprecedented opportunity in Tennessee's 7th Congressional District. PSB conducted 329 pone interviews of TN-7 likely voters. The margin of error for the poll is +/- 5.4%. The results are staggering.
- In shelby County, when told that Bill was a resident, the numbers become 43% Morrison / 42% Blackburn.
- District wide, given a sample and direct positive message about Bill Morrison, the numbers shift dramatically to 45 Morrison / 38 Blackburn, a 15 point shift (21 points among female voters).
- Given a factual record of Blackburn campaign contributions and votes the poll shifts to 52 Morrison / 33 Blackburn, an overall shift of 26 points (36 among female voters).
That's a fairly small sample size, but the district is itself small. Even taking that into account, these are incredible numbers. We need your help to get the word out in the final weeks of the campaign. This is a winnable race, and we intend to prove it.
Bill Morrison has been campaigning hard in Tennessee's 7th District, and he's made it this far with $424 cash on hand left to spare. He needs your help to get over the hump and deliver a blow to the GOP leadership. Marsha Blackburn is 4th in the GOP House leadership, she's assistant Majority Whip, and co-chair of the NRCC with Tom Reynolds.
$87 will buy one point of advertising in Tennessee's 7th. Marsha Blackburn is a GOP shill and a regular FOX News contributor. She's shown no interest in her home district, she hasn't even started campaigning, and we've got a chance to kick her out of office and put in a Democrat who has already invested real time serving Tennessee's interests.
This is an opportunity for you to make a real difference in the balance of power in Congress, and win us another seat in the red South. Chances like this don't come along every year, especially not in Tennessee. Let's sieze this chance to make a formerly red state blue again!
You can donate here via ActBlue.
If you live in the district and you want to volunteer, contact Brice Timmons here.
Bill Morrison's campaign page is here.
Please help spread the word, and let's give the GOP an ass-kicking they'll never forget!
UPDATE:
From the West Tennessee Liberal:
Not only do we have a chance at taking her down, but any momentum and votes Bill gets, win or lose, will help the whole ticket, Jr. included, in the district. If you can, hit the streets for him. Make some phone calls. Give some money. I'm about to give for the third time. We have a choice between a progressive veteran and teacher or a right-wing nut-job. Let's fight the good fight on this one.
Also, check out this piece from Memphis blogger
Polar Donkey.