NASHVILLE, TENN. (April 1, 2019) — After announcing his candidacy on Friday, March 29, on WTN 99.7 FM to replace Lamar Alexander in the 2020 U.S. Senate, music industry executive Stokes Nielson is polling with a double-digit lead, 33% to 22%, over attorney James Mackler. Stokes’ core issue is opposing the gas tax hikes that have been spreading throughout the country since former Governor Bill Haslam signed the 2017 Tennessee gas tax increases into law. The statewide poll was executed by the Cattleya Group.
Center City Conservatives President Brian Hornback and Stokes Neilson the day before he announced for the 2020 U.S. Senate race
Stokes’ double digit poll lead is the highest for a political newcomer in a Tennessee U.S. Senate race in 25 years, since former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist ran in the early 1990s. In this new poll, Stokes has almost doubled the lead that Marsha Blackburn held over Phil Bredesen in the final poll before the November 6, 2018 vote, which was a +5.2 advantage. Stokes is related to former Tennessee Congressman W. B. Stokes, who was part of the first Republican Congressional Majority in United States history in the 1860s.
Stokes’ name recognition comes from his years as a BMI award-winning songwriter/artist for the 3X ACM Award nominated Country group, The Lost Trailers, as well as his success as a global podcaster with “Stokes & Friends: KPOP with T.H.I.S.” In 2018, Stokes’ podcast became the first KPOP-related podcast to break the Apple Music Top 10, and garners millions of online impressions as he spotlights acts BTS and Day6 next to artists like Camila Cabello and Shawn Mendes. Stokes is also CEO of the content company, Channel Greatness, which works as a production and consultancy arm for major global media companies and new entertainment brands.
Stokes lives in Brentwood, TN, and is a Republican. His anti-tax, pro-growth platform has broad appeal to both Republican and Tennessee independent voters. The platform can be found here
Watch his announcement interview with Dan Mandis from WTN 99.7 FM Nashville, here
Hear Stokes talk about Country music during the U.S. Senate announcement, here
Stokes on Twitter, here and Instagram, here
