Marsha Blackburn announces bid for Tennessee governor

Sen. Marsha Blackburn launched her campaign for governor of Tennessee on Wednesday, exactly a year before the state’s GOP primary.

She will face off against Republican Rep. John Rose, who announced his campaign in March. They’re vying to replace GOP Gov. Bill Lee, who is term-limited.

Ms. Blackburn pitched herself as someone who can help President Trump as he sends power back to the states.

“I’m ready to deliver the kind of conservative leadership that will ensure our state is America’s conservative leader for this generation and the next,” she said in her announcement video.

Ms. Blackburn vowed to make Tennessee the “number one job-creating, energy-producing powerhouse” in America, support an education system that empowers parents, deport illegal aliens and “define our boys and girls the way God made them.”

She grabbed headlines in 2022 for asking Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson during her confirmation hearing, “What is a woman?”

Ms. Jackson said she couldn’t answer because she’s “not a biologist” and her role on the court would be to address disputes about a definition and to interpret the law.

“The fact that you can’t give me a straight answer about something as fundamental as what a woman is underscores the dangers of the kind of progressive education that we are hearing about,” Ms. Blackburn said, noting it also “tells our girls that their voices don’t matter.”

Ms. Blackburn, who was first elected to the House in 2002, also champions pro-life issues and is the Republican lead on a bipartisan bill to protect kids online.

She was the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate from Tennessee and would also be the state’s first female governor if she wins the race.

Ms. Blackburn’s term in the Senate doesn’t end until January 2031. If she were to win the governor’s race, her new role would give her the power to name a temporary replacement until a special election could be held.

Ms. Blackburn is the third U.S. senator to announce a run for governor in 2026. Sens. Michael Bennet, Colorado Democrat, and Tommy Tuberville, Alabama Republican, are also running for governor in their states.

Since 1914, 58 incumbent or former U.S. senators ran in 62 gubernatorial elections, winning 42% of the time, according to Ballotpedia.