NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Early voting in the Republican primary for governor is less than three weeks away.
The front-runner, U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn, is keeping a low profile.
She has refused to debate her Republican opponents and is not doing local media interviews.
Last week, NewsChannel 5 Investigates caught up with her after an event in Nashville and asked some basic questions before she got onto an elevator.
Blackburn had just spoken to the Greater Nashville Technology Council.
Organizers invited local media, and said Blackburn would take questions afterward, but when her speech ended, she immediately headed for the elevators.
I asked, "Senator, can we ask you about your run for governor?"
"We don't have time right now," an aide responded as they walked out.
We followed up, "We were told you were going to answer questions. Can you answer some questions about your run for governor?"
Senator Blackburn responded, "We were doing a federal event, but thank you very much."
As she and her staff waited for the elevator, I continued, "Well, we were told you were going to answer some questions. Why don't you have time to talk? Should you talk to voters about what you plan to do as governor?"
Senator Blackburn responded, "And we are every single day."
"You are refusing to debate your Republican opponents. Why won't you debate your Republican opponents?"
Senator Blackburn responded, "We're talking to Tennesseans every single day, every single day.
"Do voters have a right to hear from you?"
"We are talking to individuals every single day", she responded again.
We showed the video to Steve Gill, who is a longtime conservative political commentator and publisher of TriStar Daily.
"That is not the look that you want from someone who's asking to be the chief executive officer of the state of Tennessee, who ought to be able to fully discuss issues," Gill said.
NewsChannel 5 Investigates asked Gill, "Is there some concern internally about her ability to answer tough questions?"
"I think there's a concern that's not what she does best," Gill said.
As we waited for the elevator doors to open, Blackburn kept repeating the same answer to different questions.
We asked, "Do you support subsidies for companies like Starbucks?"
"We're talking to Tennesseans every single day, thank you," Blackburn said.
Congressman John Rose has made the Starbucks deal an issue in the campaign. He opposes spending $30 million of taxpayer money to bring the Starbucks headquarters to Tennessee.
I asked Blackburn a second time.
"But do you support subsidies for companies like Starbucks?"
"We're talking to Tennesseans every single day. Every day." Blackburn said.
"Are you uncomfortable talking about issues surrounding the campaign?"
"No, not at all," Blackburn said.
"Then why won't you sit down and do interviews? We've asked you for interviews multiple times."
Blackburn responded, "We talk to Tennesseans every single day."
Last month, NewsChannel 5 sent an email to her campaign offering to do an interview anytime that fits the Senator's schedule.
But her office has not responded.
It's an offer the other Republican candidates have accepted.
NewsChannel 5 Investigates asked Steve Gill, "Is she trying to run out the clock on this election?"
"She's running out the clock, and it may be a political strategy. I'm not sure it's a policy strategy. And she may pay a price for it down the road because voters won't know what she really stands for," Gill said.
With early voting just weeks away, voters will soon decide whether avoiding questions is what they want from their future governor.
We asked the senator, "Why did you change your vote to certify the 2020 election?"
Blackburn responded, "Thank you," as she walked on the elevator.
I asked a final question, "Don't voters have a right to hear you answer some of these questions?"
Then the elevator doors closed.
The winner of the Republican primary will likely be a strong favorite to become the next governor, given Tennessee's reputation as a red state.
Early voting starts July 17.
Our invitation for Senator Blackburn to sit down for an interview still stands.
