Senator Marsha Blackburn

With Democrats smelling opportunity in an open seat, and funding their candidate accordingly, Republicans needed to execute a targeted messaging plan to ensure that the seat stayed in GOP hands. The retiring Senator refusing to endorse and suggesting either candidate would be good for Tennessee certainly kept things interesting down the stretch.

Based on our polling, A Better Tomorrow for Tennessee was able to deploy highly effective messaging that built into a gradual lead for Blackburn as the race entered the finishing stages. Taking advantage of the national messaging environment and linking that to local issues ensured that the Democratic candidate was unable to avoid the national party image, putting him at a severe disadvantage in Tennessee. 

In one of the most competitive races of the 2018 election cycle, Republicans held onto the seat. For a polling firm, nailing that final number certainly didn't hurt either.