MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (AP) - A Middle Tennessee State University poll of likely Tennessee voters shows Republican Mitt Romney far ahead of President Barack Obama, a lead driven by strong support among white evangelical voters.

The poll released Saturday showed 59% of likely voters favoring Romney, 34% backing Obama, 6% undecided and 1% supporting another candidate.

The telephone poll was conducted Oct. 16-21 among registered voters who had voted early or said they were very likely to vote in the Nov. 6 election. The margin of error is plus or minus 4 points at the 95% level of confidence.

The poll found that white evangelicals, about 60% of Tennessee's electorate, back Romney over Obama 74% to 21%, with 5% undecided.

Online:

MTSU Poll: http://www.mtsusurveygroup.org.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.