Blackburn claims Tennessee governor win before final vote count

U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn declared herself the winner of the Tennessee gubernatorial election on Tuesday evening. She made the statement while standing on stage in Nashville, even though state officials had not yet finalized the tally of all ballots.

The race was too close to call at the time of her announcement. Neither the Associated Press, NBC News, nor the Secretary of State’s office had officially declared a winner. The declaration came shortly before 10:20 p.m., when vote counting was still in progress across Davidson County and the rest of the state.

Democrat Jerri Green, Blackburn’s main opponent, later gave a speech that appeared to concede the race. The concession followed Blackburn’s early claim of victory. A third candidate, David Hatley, also ran in the four-way race, along with Lauren Pinkston.

By about 11:24 p.m., the Tennessee Secretary of State’s Office confirmed the results. Blackburn received 957,136 votes, accounting for 45.52% of the total. Green tallied 902,953 votes, or 42.95%. Hatley garnered 195,564 votes for 9.30%, and Pinkston received 26,200 votes for 1.25%.

The final margin between the top two candidates was 54,183 votes. The Secretary of State’s office released these figures after the initial period of uncertainty. The confirmed numbers matched the direction Blackburn indicated during her early victory speech.