U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn has won the Republican primary for governor, beating U.S. Rep. John Rose and state Rep. Monty Fritts, R-Kingston.
Blackburn now faces Memphis Democrat Jerri Green in the general election. Tennessee hasn’t elected a Democrat to a statewide office since 2006.
If elected, Blackburn would continue a streak of firsts, going from the state’s first female U.S. senator to its first female governor. At 74 years old, she would also make history as the state’s oldest governor.
Blackburn was an early frontrunner, leading in the polls even before she announced her candidacy. Her campaign caught some flak late in the race as she refused to debate her GOP opponents and kept to regimented town halls.
In the final weeks, Rose called for Blackburn to release the findings of an ethics investigation that shows her Senate staffers were paid with public funds to work on her campaign.
Blackburn’s Senate seat isn’t back on the ballot until 2030, unlike Congressman Rose, who passed up a re-election bid to run for governor. State Rep. Johnny Garrett, R-Goodlettsville, will face off against an undetermined Democratic candidate in November for Rose’s open congressional seat in the newly redrawn 6th Congressional District.
The governor has the power to appoint a replacement to serve out the last three years of Blackburn’s term. That means if Blackburn wins the general, Gov. Bill Lee could make the call, or if Blackburn wins and waits until she’s inaugurated as governor, she could appoint her own replacement in the Senate.
Blackburn fired back last month against a dark money group for running an AI-generated attack ad against her. The ad called her “the queen pharma mama,” referencing a bill she sponsored which made it easier for patients to receive pain medication but also made it harder for the DEA to inspect narcotic shipments. At the time, Blackburn’s office said that Congress could revisit the “unintended consequences” of the legislation. In a cease-and-desist letter to the PAC, attorneys said Blackburn “has never accepted a bribe to pass legislation,” and that the ad amounted to slander.
Copyright 2026 WPLN News
