U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn won Tennessee's Republican nomination for governor on Aug. 6, defeating two other conservative candidates and cementing her status as the heavy favorite to become the first woman to lead the state, NBC News and the Associated Press have projected.
"One year ago, we set out on this journey with one goal: to make Tennessee America's conservative leader and show the nation what strong, bold, conservative leadership looks like." Blackburn posted on X shortly before 9:30 pm ET. "Tonight, I am humbled and honored that you've chosen me as your Republican nominee for Governor."
In November's midterm, Blackburn will face Jerri Green, who won the Democratic nomination, CNN and the Associated Press projected.
But it will be a massive
uphill battle for Green, a Memphis council member. A Democrat has not sat in the state's governor seat since former Gov. Phil Bredesen was termed out in 2011 after his 2006 victory, and Republican candidates have dominated the state in recent years.
Blackburn, 74, entered the Republican primary race the clear favorite over U.S. Rep. John Rose and state Rep. Monty Fritts, at one point holding double-digital leads in early polling. She is popular among Republicans and was the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate from Tennessee, currently serving her second Senate term after four terms in the U.S. House of Representatives.
President Donald Trump did not endorse a candidate for the Republican primary, although Blackburn and Rose are both strong supporters of the president. Trump swept the state in 2024 with an almost 30-point-lead over Kamala Harris.
Blackburn's goal is "to make Tennessee America’s conservative leader," according to her campaign Twitter, and her campaign spotlights her commitment to Trump, his "America First Agenda" and the Make America Great Again movement.
On the issues, her campaign advocated for core-Republican platforms such as economic growth through tax cuts, fighting crime and illegal immigration, cutting wasteful government spending, parental rights and removing "woke" curriculums from schools.
"She fights every day for President Donald Trump’s America First agenda, to keep men out of girls’ sports, hold big tech accountable, defend life, protect American farmland from Communist China, secure our borders, and deport all illegal aliens," Blackburn's website says.
Blackburn's campaign also gained national attention when she released a July campaign video where the senator sat in a Chinese food restaurant crumbling Fortune cookies to show "how hard am I going to crack down on China." She also faced criticism for not debating her two primary opponents.
The race tightened as the primary neared but Blackburn stayed in the lead until her final victory.
Rose's campaign contrasted Blackburn's, pointing to his family roots as an eighth-generation farmer in the state and highlighting that he is "not a career politician." Similar to Blackburn, though, he relied on a connection to Trump, calling himself an "unapologetic supporter" of the president who will align with Trump's "blueprint." He focused on five campaign priorities – education, infrastructure, healthcare, energy and economic and community development.
Fritts ran a small-government "liberty & less government" campaign that called for 10 pillars including eliminating a grocery sales tax, defending the Second Amendment, supporting voter ID laws and removing incentives that attracted "illegal aliens" to the state.
On the Democratic side, two candidates besides Green – Carnita Atwater and Tim Cyr – were on the primary ballot. Green campaigned on supporting working families, strengthening public schools, expanding Medicaid in rural parts of the state, "common-sense" gun laws and clean climate preservation.
This is a developing story.
Contributing: Vivian Jones, The Tennessean
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: US Sen. Marsha Blackburn wins GOP nomination for Tennessee governor
