Tennessee Elects Its First Woman Governor. Marsha Blackburn Will Pick the Senator Who Replaces Her

Republicans had a rough Tuesday night. Tennessee wasn’t part of it. Sen. Marsha Blackburn won the governor’s race and became the first woman ever elected to run the state, CBS News and the Associated Press projected, beating Democrat Jerri Green 45.5% to 43.0% in the unofficial count.

She was already the first woman Tennessee ever sent to the U.S. Senate, in 2018. Now she gets something almost no new governor gets: the power to choose who takes her own Senate seat.

“Tennessee did not just elect a governor,” Blackburn told supporters in Nashville, on a livestream from her campaign’s own 𝕏 account. “Tennessee chose a direction. And they chose a future.”

Why the margin looks close

A 2.5-point win in a state Trump carried easily will get spun as a warning sign. Look at the chart first. Neither major candidate cleared 46%, because independent David Hatley took 9.3% and twelve more independents split another 2.2%. That’s more than one in ten Tennessee voters skipping both parties, on the worst night for Republicans in years.

OutKick founder Clay Travis, who emceed the victory party, put it this way before handing her the microphone: “Candidates matter. And she dominated in a time when not very many other people did.”

What she promised

Blackburn didn’t give a soft unity speech and leave it there. She said she would be “a governor for each and every Tennessean,” then laid out a hard-right agenda: property tax relief so “seniors should not be taxed out of their home,” school choice so parents “don’t have to win the lottery,” and a state budget that won’t leave “a dime ending up in the pocket of fraudsters.”

She went straight at the culture fights too.

“Let’s make certain that Tennessee is the safest state for our children and the most dangerous state for criminals,” she said. Tennessee already allows the death penalty for the rape of a child under a 2024 law, and Blackburn said that when appeals run out, executions should be carried out.

On immigration she left no room at all.

“Tennesseans want to see those that are illegally in our state deported,” she said. “We will make certain that every city in this state realizes we do not allow sanctuary cities in the state of Tennessee.”

The Senate seat is the real prize

Here’s the part most of the night’s coverage skipped. Under Tennessee Code § 2-16-101, when a U.S. Senate seat opens, the governor appoints a replacement, and that person serves until the next regular November election. For Blackburn’s seat, that’s November 2028. The winner then serves out the rest of her term, which runs to January 2031.

The Tennessee Constitution says no one holding another state or federal office can serve as governor, so she has to give up the Senate seat to take the oath. The timing decides who picks. If she resigned now, outgoing Gov. Bill Lee would choose. Blackburn has said she plans to stay in the Senate until her inauguration in January, which hands the choice to Gov. Blackburn, the Tennessean reported.

That matters more after Tuesday. With Democrats taking the Senate, every Republican seat counts, and Blackburn’s pick walks in with nearly two years in the seat and a head start on 2028.

She hasn’t named anyone. The names Tennessee insiders keep floating, according to University of Tennessee political scientist Andrew Busch, are Rep. Tim Burchett, former Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Jacobs, the former WWE wrestler Kane, stood on her stage Tuesday night, and she thanked him from the podium as her campaign treasurer. Burchett has said he’s “absolutely” running for the seat in 2028 either way.

What happens next

Counties finish counting and certify, and the General Assembly formally opens and announces the governor’s race returns. Blackburn takes office in January, succeeding Lee, who is term-limited.

Lee was gracious on 𝕏. “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,” he posted, promising “a smooth transition.”

Blackburn closed with a recruiting pitch. “I needed your vote,” she told the crowd. “And now I need you to serve.”