Democrat Phil Bredesen has a narrow lead over Republican Marsha Blackburn in a new poll on Tennessee’s Senate race.

The Vanderbilt University poll released Thursday showed 44 percent of likely voters support Bredesen, compared to 43 percent who said they would vote for Blackburn. Bredesen’s 1-point lead falls within the poll’s margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percent.

That's a closer race than implied in a spring version of the same poll, which said Berdesen had a 67 percent favorability rating, compared with Blackburn's 49 percent.

Still, the new poll showed the Democratic candidate was more popular among women than Blackburn, 49 percent to 37 percent. Fifty percent of male voters preferred Blackburn, compared with 37 percent supporting Bredesen.

“Women vote at a higher rate than men, giving Bredesen his narrow lead in the poll,” the pollster said in a release.

Bredesen also has more support among Republicans than Blackburn does with Democrats. Thirteen percent of Republicans said they’d vote for Bredesen, while 5 percent of Democrats said they prefer Blackburn. Independent voters were split.

A RealClearPolitics’ average of recent polls, which does not include the Vanderbilt poll, shows Blackburn with a 9-point lead over Bredesen.

The Vanderbilt poll was conducted in the days after pop star Taylor Swift broke her political silence to endorse Bredesen. The poll surveyed 800 likely voters from Oct. 8-13.