NASHVILLE — History is on the ballot in Tennessee. Roll Call reported Wednesday that U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn is favored to become the Volunteer State’s first female governor, and Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales rates the race Solid Republican.
Blackburn, who won a second Senate term in 2024, is running to succeed term-limited Republican Gov. Bill Lee. Her Democratic opponent is Memphis city councilwoman Jerri Green, and more than a dozen independents are also on the ballot. Tennessee has not elected a Democratic governor since 2006.
The momentum got a jolt on Saturday, October 10, when President Trump flew to Fort Campbell and rallied a packed Clarksville crowd for Blackburn and Sen. Bill Hagerty. “In this election, I’m asking you to do me a favor. Pretend. Just pretend that I’m running,” the President told Tennessee. He touted Korea Zinc’s $6 billion investment and 740 new jobs in Montgomery and Smith counties — Golden Age wins Blackburn has promised to build on from the governor’s office.
On the trail, Blackburn is talking about the people too often forgotten. She told WSMV that 78 of Tennessee’s 95 counties are rural, and pointed to the Rural Health Transformation Fund she worked on in the Senate, which she said will bring Tennessee about a billion dollars over five years for rural technology, maternal and child health, and a bigger rural health workforce. She cited Fentress County, where she worked with local leaders, CMS and UT Medical to open a free-standing emergency room after the county lost its hospital.
Early voting opened today and runs through October 29, with Election Day on November 3. Tennessee Patriots answered the President’s call in Clarksville. Now it’s time to finish the job at the ballot box. Watch Rapid Response 47’s video of President Trump heading to Tennessee.
