Those same polls said both Gore and Kerry were going to win too.
There is a kind of odd political connection between IL and TN. Howard Henry Baker, Jr., married Joy Dirksen of Pekin, IL, and also became the son-in-law of legendary Republican Everett McKinley Dirksen, who he later followed as Senate Republican leader. Former TN Governor Don Sundquist is an unpopular IL native and was somewhat similar in governance to indicted former IL Governor George Ryan. TN may be inclined to join IL again and elect the second sitting black U.S. Senator, Mr. Ford to join the wildly popular Mr. Obama. I suspect that TN want to show it is "not prejudiced" and could elect Ford if 2006 is a heavily Democrat year. VA has already done such with the popular L. Douglas Wilder in 1989. It looks like the TN GOP is unable to agree on just who should oppose Ford.