U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn made history Nov. 3, becoming the first woman elected to serve as Tennessee’s governor.
“My promise is pretty simple: Tennessee is going to be a state where hard work pays off, where families can put down roots, and where everyone has the opportunity to build a better future,” she told supporters at her election night party at The Pinnacle in Nashville.
The Republican candidate’s victory came amid a national blue wave that left Democrats poised to control both the U.S. House and Senate.
Blackburn said her campaign’s grassroots approach helped propel her to victory.
“We ran a different kind of campaign, focused on Tennesseans, not on the media’s terms and not on any other candidate’s terms,” Blackburn said. “We ran a campaign that was for the people of Tennessee, and we have proved that this is how you win. You build a campaign from the grassroots, from the bottom up, not the top down.”
Blackburn will succeed fellow Republican Gov. Bill Lee, who is term limited after eight years in office.
“Congratulations to Governor-Elect Marsha Blackburn on her victory,” Lee said in a statement. “Tennesseans have placed their trust in a conservative leader who understands the importance of fiscal responsibility, keeping communities safe, and creating opportunities for every family to thrive.”
Country music from the band The Austin Brothers filled the venue as Blackburn’s supporters awaited election results. Some supporters wore red caps with “MARSHA” emblazoned on them.
“Tennessee has become a Christian conservative standard-bearer, and it is the place that people want to be,” Blackburn said in her victory speech. “So our job is going to be to keep what we’ve got and to make the best better.”
In Chattanooga, Democratic nominee Jerri Green conceded in the race onstage with her family and campaign team as the crowd chanted “Jerri! Jerri! Jerri!”
“Tonight, I didn’t win for you,” Green said. “I want you to know something, Tennessee: I’m not going anywhere, and I hope you aren’t either.”
She thanked her team and her supporters for making the race “as close as we’ve been in decades.”
Unofficial results from the Tennessee Secretary of State showed Blackburn captured about 45.5% of the vote and Green 42.9%. Fewer than 55,000 votes separated them.
No Tennessee governor has won with less than 50% of the vote in at least the last century. Gov. Phil Bredesen won with 50.65% in 2002, and Gov. Frank Clement won with 50.9% in 1962.
Independent candidate David Hatley conceded the governor’s race shortly after 9 p.m. at his event in Johnson City. While he earned less than 10% of the vote, Hatley vastly overperformed other independent candidates, who in recent decades have struggled to break 2% of the vote.
Hatley initially meant to run as a Republican. But because of a federal bank fraud charge he pleaded guilty to in 1998, he had not voted in enough recent Republican primary elections to qualify for the Republican ballot. Instead, he ran as an independent, pouring $12 million of his personal fortune into his bid.
Inside the Blackburn campaign for Tennessee governor
For the most part, Blackburn’s campaign focused on activating her Republican base by appearing at party events, caucus fundraisers and campaign events with local GOP officials. Her campaign events were held by invite-only or were subject to RSVP approval. Blackburn has not held an open-to-the-public town hall since 2017.
Blackburn has made social issues like “transgender ideology” and opposition to communism central to her campaign. Her first TV ad showed her crushing fortune cookies and pledging to “crack down on China.” Late in the race, she held a “Hold the Line” rally with retired Boston Celtics center Enes Kanter Freedom, who says he publicly identifies as a woman and declared himself eligible for the 2027 WNBA draft. Days before the election, Blackburn pledged on social media to “protect Tennessee from Sharia law and the spread of Islamization.”
Following the failed execution attempt of Christa Pike, Blackburn said the state should bring back the electric chair. She pitched a “bell to bell, no cell” policy in public schools, and proposed a “Tennessee DOGE” to reduce state government bureaucracy but did not identify what state departments or programs she would eliminate.
Blackburn’s political career began in 1992, when she ran for Congress in Tennessee’s 6th District and lost to incumbent Bart Gordon. She was appointed director of the Tennessee Film, Entertainment and Music Commission in 1995 during the administration of Gov. Don Sundquist.
Three years later, she ran for state Senate and won, serving one term in the Democratic-controlled state legislature. She has touted her “successful statewide grassroots campaign” to defeat a state income tax Sundquist proposed in the 1990s.Blackburn ran for Congress again in 2003 and won, defeating now-Congressman David Kustoff and now-state Sen. Brent Taylor in the Republican primary. She served 12 terms in Congress, winning reelection by wide margins in her heavily Republican district.
When U.S. Sen. Bob Corker opted not to run for reelection, Blackburn ran for U.S. Senate in 2018, defeating former Gov. Phil Bredesen and becoming the first Tennessee woman elected to the Senate.
Blackburn is married to Chuck Blackburn, and they live in a Brentwood home that once belonged to Minnie Pearl. They have two children, Mary Morgan Ketchel and Chad Blackburn, and several grandchildren who know her as “Marshie.”
The closest governor’s race in decades
Green came closer than any Democratic candidate in decades to winning a statewide race.
Despite long odds at the offset, she crisscrossed the state meeting with voters and activating a Democratic base energized by a closer-than-ever special election in U.S. House District 7 and dissatisfaction with Republican incumbents. She held more than 210 public campaign stops.
Early returns showed Blackburn ahead of Green, but Green pulled ahead several times as returns from the Democratic strongholds of Memphis and Nashville came in — moments that ignited electric energy from her supporters in Chattanooga.
“It’s been a very long time since there’s been a governor race this close in this state,” said former Tennessee Democratic Party Chair Hendrell Remus. “It’s been a very long time since the governor’s race hadn’t been called this late on election night.”
Remus thanked Green for “giving us something that no election result can ever take away: hope.”
Green won Hamilton County and easily surpassed the statewide vote total won by former Nashville Mayor Karl Dean the last time Tennesseans elected a first-term governor in 2018. Hatley lagged well behind both Blackburn and Green, but primarily drew support from Blackburn.