A fresh poll conducted for Sen. Lamar Alexander’s campaign found he continues to hold a comfortable lead with just more than a week to go in the Tennessee Republican primary.  

Alexander took 53 percent in the poll, according to a memo the Alexander campaign provided at CQ Roll Call’s request. State Rep. Joe Carr, Alexander’s most prominent challenger, took 24 percent, followed by physician George Flinn with 5 percent. The four other candidates in the race took 1 percent or less. The poll was conducted by North Star Opinion Research, which surveyed 600 likely GOP primary voters July 27-29. Live interviewers conducted the surveys, and 30 percent of the interviews were with cell phone users.  

The results are largely unchanged from an internal poll conducted last week , which found Alexander leading Carr, 53 percent to 21 percent. In the interim, conservative talk radio host Laura Ingraham hosted a rally for Carr in Nashville, and he received the endorsement of Sarah Palin.  

In the latest poll, Alexander’s job approval rating was 59 percent, with 32 percent saying they disapprove.  

Pollster Whit Ayres noted in the memo that Flinn, who loaned his campaign $1.8 million, is a force in Western Tennessee, where he is “both better known and better liked than Joe Carr.”  

The race is rated Safe Republican by the Rothenberg Political Report/Roll Call.