Scott from Tennessee called in to Sirius Radio’s Breitbart News Sunday program last night and confirmed the findings of a Triton Poll exclusively released by Breitbart that shows incumbent Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) trails a “generic conservative” by 5 points, 49% to 44%, in the 2014 Republican Senate primary. “Everybody’s sick and tired of Alexander and Corker down here in Tennessee,” he told host Stephen K. Bannon, Breitbart News Executive Chairman.
Breitbart’s Mike Flynn, who broke the story about the shocking poll on Sunday afternoon, told Bannon that “the narrative, until this poll came out, was that Lamar Alexander was unbeatable. But if you are an incumbent and only have 30% [of likely Republican voters] saying they will vote to re-elect you, you’re vulnerable.”
Flynn said that the poll is likely to send out an invitation to potential Republican primary challengers. “There’s an opening for someone, a proven elected official with some campaign chops behind him or her. This gets a lot of other credible proven candidates to look at this race again.”
“Lamar Alexander is a little shocked today,” according to Breitbart News Sunday host Bannon. “This poll will be a bombshell in Tennessee tomorrow. People were not expecting this.”
Flynn noted that the poll reveals a disconnect between the political views of Tennessee Republicans and Alexander’s voting record. “65% of Republican voters view Lamar Alexander as moderate or liberal-progressive. But 85% consider themselves conservatives.”
Flynn added that Lamar’s re-elect numbers “are worse than McConnell and Graham.”
Alexander’s support for President Obama’s policies and the Gang of Eight’s immigration bill have hurt him significantly among Tennessee Republicans. According to the Triton Poll, 73% of likely Republican voters were less likely to vote for Alexander after they learned he voted with President Obama 62% of the time.
Flynn observed that Alexander “was a critical player in clearing the way for a lot of recent Obama nominations, like Perez as Secretary of Labor. He thought he was totally safe.”
Bannon told the audience that “the Gang of Eight bill would not have passed without Lamar Alexander putting his shoulder to it.” Matthew Boyle, who covers Capitol Hill for Breitbart, provided a final note of irony that surrounds this legislative accomplishment. “Lamar Alexander,” he said, “has a tendency nationally to fly under the radar. He voted for a pathway to citizenship. Now it looks like he voted for a pathway for Lamar Alexander getting voted out of the Senate.”
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.