JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WTVF) — Senator Marsha Blackburn's campaign for governor of Tennessee has been defined as much by what she won't do as by what she will.
Blackburn has consistently refused to debate her Republican opponents, rarely gives interviews, and appears to avoid unscripted public appearances.
She claims she talks to Tennesseans every day, but a leaked document from an East Tennessee roundtable reveals a carefully curated campaign event with assigned topics and even a scripted question.
The Johnson City roundtable took place at the Ashe Street Courthouse on June 29.
The campaign posted pictures on Facebook and wrote "talking with Tennesseans" in what was reported by the Johnson City Press as "a question-answer style event."
But a "Run of Show" document obtained by NewsChannel 5 Investigates tells a different story.
No average Tennesseans were called on to ask questions.
All participants were elected officials or community leaders.
They were given the topic to discuss with the senator. Some were given three minutes, others had five minutes.
One speaker clearly had a question scripted.
It read: "Senator Blackburn [...] Why are you the best choice to make sure our small towns and communities continue to thrive?"
The event and social media post came days after NewsChannel 5 Investigates questioned Blackburn after she spoke at an event in Nashville.
She gave the same answer to several different questions while waiting for an elevator to arrive.
"We're talking to Tennesseans every single day. Every single day," Blackburn said.
That response came when asked why she continues to refuse to debate her Republican opponents.
It came again when asked whether she supports subsidies for companies like Starbucks.
When asked if she was uncomfortable talking about issues surrounding the campaign, she said she was not, but when pressed on why she won't sit down for interviews, her answer was the same.
"We talk to Tennesseans every single day," Blackburn repeated.
Eric Hernandez, who was a reporter with the Macon County Times in 2024, said what happened at the East Tennessee roundtable did not surprise him.
"No, not at all. It's what we experienced here that day," Hernandez said.
Hernandez covered Blackburn's Listening Tour when she came to Lafayette's City Hall in 2024, before she announced her campaign for governor.
He and another reporter asked Blackburn's aide if they could interview her after the event with county leaders.
"He said that if you have any questions you want to ask, you can submit three and she will answer one. And that's pretty much, you know, we were in shock," Hernandez said.
Hernandez said the senator's aide also objected to the recorder he brought to the event, something he brought to all public appearances.
"I was approached by her aide and was asked not to record. Honestly, it was more like a demand," Hernandez said.
He said he recorded anyway and that nothing dramatic happened, but he was struck by how unwilling Blackburn seemed to answer unscripted questions.
"Other politicians come to town and are very forthcoming with information or whatever we want to ask. So, it was odd to say the least," Hernandez said.
Her history on the campaign trail and as a senator raises questions about how accessible she would be as governor.
Blackburn has not held a public, in-person town hall in nearly a decade.
Her last one was in a tense, packed room in Fairview in 2017.
She blamed paid protesters for disruptions at that event. Since then, her staff has carefully managed her appearances.
Longtime conservative political commentator and publisher of TriStar Daily, Steve Gill said Blackburn's team may be worried about mistakes the 74-year-old might make in a debate or unscripted interview.
"Her strategy, her team's strategy, is to avoid anything that she's not fully prepared for and has a very specific, tight answer," Gill said.
Gill drew a pointed comparison to another politician known for avoiding unscripted moments.
"That was the complaint about Joe Biden hiding in the basement. They had to do that with him because he didn't have the capacity to do it. And I think whether it's fair or not, that's the comparison you're going to start seeing made of why is she hiding," Gill said.
After our interview at the elevator, Blackburn did a flurry of sit-down interviews.
When a Memphis reporter asked whether she supports taxpayer subsidies for Starbucks, she defended the deal and said the money "will be recouped in payroll taxes in six months."
However, Tennessee does not have an income tax or a payroll tax that could be used to offset such subsidies.
When asked in a separate interview why she won't debate, Blackburn said, "We have done plenty of these forums across the state."
But she has not appeared on stage with the other two candidates to answer questions in a forum or debate.
Her avoidance has led the other campaigns to question where she is.
Hernandez, who now owns the web-based Macon County Sentinel and has not endorsed a candidate, said he doubts Blackburn will become more open if she is elected governor.
"It was her character two years ago. It's her character now, and it will be her character if she becomes governor," Hernandez said.
We asked Senator Blackburn's campaign for comment, but received no response.
