U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn officially launched her campaign for governor on Wednesday morning after months of speculation.
In her first campaign ad, Blackburn touts her connection to Donald Trump — the president even appears before her in the video, which Blackburn shared Wednesday morning on social media. The one-and-a-half-minute clip lays out Blackburn's plan for Tennessee to be the "number one job-creating, energy-producing powerhouse" that can deliver on childhood education "by empowering parents, not the deep state." She also continues to push the president's agenda on immigration.
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"I'm ready to deliver the kind of conservative leadership that will ensure our state is America's conservative leader for this generation and the next," Blackburn says.
Even before her official announcement, the U.S. senator has been considered a favorite for the governor's seat, which has been won handily by Republicans in the past four elections. Sitting Gov. Bill Lee, who was reelected in 2022, is currently term-limited and will leave office in 2027. If elected, Blackburn would be Tennessee's first female governor.
Blackburn is already joined in the race by Republican U.S. Rep. John Rose.
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“We welcome her to the race if she gets into it,” Rose told Scene sister publication the Nashville Post in July, though he went on to question Blackburn’s commitment to her current role. “I think Tennesseans expect the people they elect to serve to fill out the terms that they were elected to serve.”
Blackburn, who is 73, was reelected to her U.S. Senate post in November, beating Democratic challenger and state Rep. Gloria Johnson. Blackburn's current term expires in 2031.
A former state representative and state senator, Blackburn first served in the U.S. House in 2003 and transitioned to the U.S. Senate in 2019.
This article was first published by our sister publication, the Nashville Post.
