(The Center Square) – U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn said Wednesday she intends to run for Tennessee governor in 2026.
Gov. Bill Lee is serving his second and final term.
Blackburn was reelected to a six-year term in the Senate last November. She is not required to resign her seat. If successful in her run for governor, she would appoint her successor to Congress.
Blackburn recently had 51% of positive responses on the job she is doing in the Senate, while 38% disapproved, in a Beacon Center poll.
“We’ll deport illegal aliens, because respect for the law starts with enforcing them,” Blackburn said in announcing her candidacy. “This is Tennessee. We’ll honor the Constitution, we’ll value life and we’ll define our boys and girls the way God made them.”
Blackburn touts her relationship with President Donald Trump on her campaign website and her campaign announcement video.
“A strong economy means a strong Tennessee, and Marsha will always fight for freedom, free people, and free markets,” it reads. “She’ll continue to lead the fight to keep men out of women’s sports, protecting Tennessee girls. And she’ll keep Tennesseans safe by supporting President Trump’s mass deportations and removing ineffective, do-nothing district attorneys.”
Tennessee has never elected a woman governor. Blackburn is the state’s first woman senator in Congress. She was first elected to the state Senate in 1998 after being the executive director of the Tennessee Film, Entertainment, and Music Commission.
