NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Tennessee voters have selected their nominees for governor, setting up a historic general election that is guaranteed to feature a woman at the top of the ticket for both major parties.
Republican U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn and Democratic Shelby County Public Defender and Memphis City Council member Jerri Green won their respective party primaries Thursday, advancing to the November general election.
If either candidate wins, she would become the first woman elected governor in Tennessee history.
Blackburn enters the race as one of the state's highest-profile elected officials, having spent decades in public office. Her political career includes service in the Tennessee Senate, the U.S. House of Representatives and, most recently, the U.S. Senate.
During her campaign, Blackburn highlighted several priorities, including banning cellphone use throughout the entire school day, increasing transportation investments and addressing illegal immigration. "In Tennessee, you cannot have sanctuary cities or sanctuary city policies," Blackburn said during an her victory speech. "And yes, to the Metro Nashville City Council and Mayor Freddie [O'Connell] I hope you understand that."
Blackburn also emphasized economic growth, rural healthcare access and managing Tennessee's continued population growth. "We are going to keep attracting and growing good-paying jobs," Blackburn said. "We're going to do this by supporting local companies that are ready to grow and be smart about the businesses that we're recruiting to our state."
On the Democratic side, Green secured her party's nomination after campaigning on issues such as affordability, healthcare and what she describes as federal government overreach into state affairs. "We're going to work on the affordability crisis, on making healthcare help people, not hurt people," Green said in an interview with NewsChannel 5 Thursday night. "And we're going to stand up and fight back against the D.C. swamp and how they're trying to take over our state."
Green acknowledged that winning statewide in Tennessee will be a challenge for a Democrat, but said she believes she can build a coalition broad enough to compete in November.
When asked about the difficulty of winning in a traditionally Republican state, Green responded: "Hard is not impossible."
While the general election will largely focus on Blackburn and Green, voters will also see a number of independent candidates on the ballot. According to state election officials, 13 independent candidates have filed to run for governor.
However, no independent candidate has ever been elected governor of Tennessee.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at Chris.Davis@NewsChannel5.com.
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