NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Nashville Banner) — This story was originally published by the Nashville Banner. Sign up for their newsletter.
Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn and Democratic Memphis City Councilmember Jerri Green won their respective primary elections on Thursday night, setting the stage for November’s election to replace outgoing Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee.
Blackburn, a national conservative firebrand and unrelenting Trump supporter, and Green, a self-described common-sense Democrat with a background in local government, have little in common, but both stand to be the state’s first woman governor.
The Associated Press called the Democratic primary for Green, who had slightly more than 70 percent of the votes and later called the Republican race for Blackburn, who garnered 43 percent of the vote over Congressman John Rose, who was just shy of 33 percent and State Rep. Monty Fritts, who was just below 24 percent in the Republican primary.
At her election party in Knoxville, however, Blackburn and her team gathered in the “war room” to celebrate her presumed victory around 7:45 p.m. and by 8:30, she had called it on her social media. Shortly after, the AP called the primary for her.
Just before 9, Blackburn addressed the crowd, wearing all white, with Dolly Parton playing throughout the crowded ballroom.
“To anyone who is watching this and supported another candidate, I invite you, come join our team,” Blackburn said. “Really, our work is much bigger than any one candidate or one campaign. We absolutely have to unite as a party and defeat the Democrats in November.”
In her speech, Blackburn said the Democrats are “not just running on different politics” but rather “running to destroy our state and our nation.” She called the state a “Christian Conservative standard bearer and economic powerhouse,” and said as governor she would “not allow Tennessee to become New York or California.”
She also took a shot at Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell, name-dropping the Democrat when opposing so-called sanctuary cities.
Before walking out to Rocky Top, Blackburn painted a picture of what the state would look like if she becomes governor.
“If you’re someone who wants a God-fearing, freedom-loving, flag-waving, guitar-picking, NASCAR-loving, Vol-cheering, pro-life, low-tax, beacon of freedom, you are in the right place,” Blackburn said.
After 9 p.m., Rose conceded the race and said he would support the Republican nominee in the general election.
“Even though things didn’t go our way tonight, I hope you’ll join me in supporting our Republican nominee for governor of Tennessee,” Rose said to supporters in Cookeville, adding congratulations for Fritts, who said he ran “for the good of Tennessee.”
“Tonight will be on my mind for a long time to come. It won’t be due to things I’ve lost, but I’ll be thinking about the things I’ve gained,” Rose added.
Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs announced her victory to a full crowd at the Knoxville Convention Center, with hundreds chanting “Marsha, Marsha, Marsha.” When Congressman Tim Burchett spoke to the crowd, he referred to Blackburn as the new governor.
Blackburn appeared to stave off surprisingly formidable primary challenges from Rose and Fritts, despite turbulence this summer. Rose poured around $13 million of his own money into his campaign, but couldn’t manage to overcome Blackburn’s name recognition and political connections in the fight to be the Trump-aligned conservative selected by Tennessee Republicans.
Fritts exceeded expectations as a fringe Christian nationalist but still fell short, likely skimming votes from Rose. Both Rose and Fritts gave up reelection campaigns to run against Blackburn, and won’t hold any office when their terms end this year.
While Blackburn was always a frontrunner, she took a hit in polling this summer after declining to debate her primary opponents, failing to secure an official Trump endorsement, and facing scrutiny for a lack of transparency and public access.
In campaign stops throughout Election Day, Blackburn made it clear that, because of Tennessee’s deep-red statewide voting record over the last two decades, she believes winning the primary means she will be governor in January, repeatedly correcting people to say “when I’m governor” and “when we win.”
Green, a Memphis City Councilmember and former public defender, similarly looked like the frontrunner throughout her campaign, and trounced five other Democratic hopefuls, including runner-up Carnita Atwater, who earned slightly more than 17 percent of the counted vote.
Green will have an uphill battle in the general election, but may benefit from political momentum among Democrats after an unexpected Congressional redistricting this summer, which threatens the state’s only Democratic Congressional seat in Memphis.
This article first appeared on Nashville Banner and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
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