NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee has elected its first female governor. Republican U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn won Tuesday’s race over Democratic nominee Jerri Green and a field of 13 independent candidates.
Late-night returns showed Blackburn with 45.52% of the vote and Green with 42.95%, a gap of less than three points. Businessman David Hatley led the independents at 9.30%, and Lauren Pinkston drew 1.25%, based on the count as of 11:37 p.m.
Blackburn took the stage and claimed victory before any official call had been made and while ballots were still being counted. At 10:20 p.m. the race remained uncalled, and the state elections office had not yet weighed in when she spoke. Green later gave what appeared to be a concession speech. Roughly an hour after the 10:20 p.m. mark, at about 11:24, the Secretary of State made the result official in Blackburn’s favor.
The primary had already set a milestone, since it was the first time both major parties in Tennessee chose a woman as their nominee for governor.
Blackburn will become the state’s 51st governor, succeeding term-limited Gov. Bill Lee. The swearing-in date has not been set, though the ceremony usually falls about two weeks into January. Lee took his second-term oath on Jan. 21, 2023.
Moving to the governor’s office means Blackburn will give up her U.S. Senate seat. Filling that vacancy falls to her once she is in office, and her appointee would serve through 2028, when voters get their say at the next general election.
Lee’s tenure formally wraps up on Jan. 16, 2027. He first won the office in 2018 with 59.6% of the vote and claimed a second term in 2022 with 64.9%, margins far wider than the one Blackburn posted this year.
Hatley, the strongest independent in the field, had said he was prepared to put $20 million of his own money into the race. Even so, his share stayed in single digits, and no candidate outside the two major parties came close to contending.
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