Yager released a poll showing him ahead (35% to 21%), and you can spin it that way, but there's a huge caveat. There are more undecided voters (48%) than there are voters that favor either candidate.

Say what you will about Ken's name recognition and the fact that Becky Ruppe toiled away in obscure rural Morgan County. Ken Yager has a serious problem in that the people who know him best are very lukewarm about him and are serious about looking for another candidate. At this point, they don't know Becky Ruppe well enough to go her way, but the situation strongly indicates she has a clear path to winning the State Senate race.

My problem with Ruppe's race so far is that she's essentially running as a DINO instead of a Progressive Democrat( and she's certainly not the only Democrat doing this).

We know Ken is a right wing Republican with a very mixed (to put it politely) record of performance in his last few terms as Roane County Mayor There's no indication that he will develop any greater competence or leadership capabilities between now and November. He was demoted from his Dean's postion at Roane State Community College, if that is any indication of his progress.

So let's read Ken Yager's own poll with a critical eye and see what it really tells us. First of all it tells us that the Yager Campaign can't do arithmetic, or believes that you and I can't do arithmetic, because the numbers add up to more than 100%. Tennessee political races are pretty sketchy but I don't think that one will fly very far. Are Diebold voting machines running polls now, too?

Second of all, the numbers, such as they are, tell us that 69% of voters currently DON'T FAVOR Ken Yager. That is not good for a politician who held a prominent local office for six four year terms.

What is clear is that Becky Ruppe has a clear shot at the 12th District Senate race but we need to see that Becky offers us a real choice for real leadership. All across our state, Tennessee needs solid leaders who can make good decisions, and tough decisions. What we don't need are slick politicians whose talent lies in merely winning political races but who are constitutionally incapable of effectively governing once they are in office.