Jerri Green
Jerri Green will be Democrats’ nominee for governor, advancing to the general election after Thursday’s Democratic primary. Green, who grew up in Memphis, has held various positions in Shelby County government and serves on the Memphis City Council. She defeated fellow Democrats Carnita Atwater, Kevin Lee McCants, Tim Cyr and Adam "Ditch" Kurtz.
Green will face Republican U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn in the general election on Nov. 3. Green's major platform issues include increased firearm regulations, universal childcare and expanding Medicaid. No Democrat has won statewide office in Tennessee since Phil Bredesen’s reelection in 2006.
Tennessee’s senior U.S. senator is heavily favored to win November’s general election
Green has been careful not to criticize her own party, even as Democrats remain unpopular among Tennesseans. Last month, the state party, facing a lawsuit from its former treasurer, was busy defending itself to its own partisans on the eve of early voting. It’s the Republicans, Green says, who have a reputation problem. An unpopular White House and several recent scandals involving GOP politicians, including Blackburn, have cast the party’s leadership as self-interested and disconnected from voters.
“ I’m 48 — I remember having a Democratic governor, and I remember having Democratic senators,” Green told the Scene in June. “It’s just not that long ago. We are not a solid-red MAGA state. We’re actually really purple.”
Green has struggled to keep pace with Republican opponents’ fundraising, with $100,000 in campaign funds as of July 30. Throughout the primary, she made up for it with a packed event schedule that crisscrossed the state rallying supporters.
