I went to Vandy as an undergrad (I'm not from Tennessee, however). At Vanderbilt conservatives have a strong presence, but the Vanderbilt community is definitely liberal leaning. During the 2008 election, they had a big setup to watch the elections in the Commons cafeteria and people cheered whenever a state went blue. Nashville's county, Davidson, seems to be one of the few in Tennessee that votes Democratic, and it shows in the surrounding community. Outside of the city, the surrounding areas are more conservative, but people in Tennessee are so nice, you'll be fine.