Blackburn wins Tennessee governorship, becomes first woman in role

Marsha Blackburn has won the race for the next governor of Tennessee.

The Associated Press declared Blackburn the winner Tuesday night after she secured 45.52% of the vote. Democratic nominee Jerri Green finished with 42.95% of the vote. Blackburn will succeed Governor Bill Lee, who has reached his term limit. This victory makes Blackburn the first woman elected to the state’s highest office.

Thirteen independent candidates also ran in the election. David Hatley, an independent frontrunner, received 9.30% of the vote. Lauren Pinkston, another independent candidate, received 1.25% of the vote as of 11:37 p.m. Tuesday. The other independent candidates finished with smaller shares of the total vote count.

Blackburn will be sworn in as the 51st governor of Tennessee in January. The exact date of the ceremony has not yet been released. The swearing-in typically occurs about two weeks into the month. Governor Lee took the oath of office for his second term on Jan. 21, 2023. Upon taking office, Blackburn will vacate her U.S. Senate seat. She will appoint an interim senator to fill the vacancy until the next general election in 2028.

Independent candidates faced distinct financial and organizational challenges during the campaign. Lauren Pinkston, a former Lipscomb University professor, stated that convincing voters an independent could win was the primary obstacle. She said her campaign relied on personally contacting potential donors. Pinkston expected her campaign to report raising more than $400,000 in the next reporting cycle. She walked in 82 counties and drove an average of 117 miles a day in July to meet voters.

David Hatley, a businessman, financed his campaign with his own funds. He said he was willing to spend $20 million of his own money to reach voters. Hatley stated he accepted no donations or political action committee money. He argued that self-funding meant he could not be controlled by outside donors.

Tennessee does not register voters by political party. An analysis by the Independent Voter Project estimates that about 48.1% of Tennessee voters fall into an independent or nonpartisan category. These figures are modeled from voter-file data and primary participation. They do not represent official party-registration totals.