Fox poll: Lee holds 20-point lead over Dean

NASHVILLE – Republican gubernatorial nominee Bill Lee has a massive lead over Democratic nominee Karl Dean in a new poll from Fox News.

The poll, released Wednesday, found 55 percent of likely voters surveyed support Lee, compared to 35 percent for Dean.

Ten percent of respondents were undecided.

Among moderates surveyed for the Fox News poll, 46 percent said they would vote for Dean while 6 percent said they would support Lee. In order for Dean to have a chance at winning in Nov. 6 general election, he will need to rely on support from independents and moderates.

Fox’s poll was jointly conducted by Anderson Robbins Research and Shaw and Company Research using landline and cellphones. A total of 686 likely voters were surveyed over a four-day period beginning Sept. 8. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

Overall, the poll of likely voters consisted of 53 percent Republicans, 35 percent Democrats and 12 percent independents.

The Fox News poll is the second survey released in the last week that found Lee with a sizable advantage.

Last week, an NBC News/Marist poll found Lee with a 13-point advantage.

Lee’s lead over Dean has given national Republicans a sense of comfort, so much so that the Republican Governors Association has decided to eliminate the first two weeks of a $2.2 million ad buy the organization booked earlier this year.

“(The RGA) feels very good about the race and as polls show Lee with a double-digit lead, we are confident that Republicans will continue to hold the Tennessee governorship,” Jon Thompson, the organization’s communications director, told the USA TODAY NETWORK Tennessee.

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