U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn released her first paid campaign ad for Tennessee governor this week, crushing fortune cookies in a Chinese restaurant setting while pledging to “stop Communist China” and “hunt down communists” who threaten the state.
The ad, which Blackburn’s campaign purchased about $112,000 in airtime for as of July 6, shows the senator sitting at a table with soy sauce and a basket of fortune cookies. “How hard am I gonna crack down on China? Well, here’s a clue,” she says, cracking and crushing the cookies in her hands. A narrator then promises that “as governor, Marsha will fight to protect Tennessee land from Chinese-owned companies, close loopholes and hunt down every communist who tries to defy us.”
The spot is filmed inside Elliston Place Soda Shop, a Nashville diner redecorated with chopsticks, soy sauce bottles, and other Asian props. It ends with a clip of a Japanese beckoning cat figurine—a traditional symbol of good fortune—waving goodbye. The ad also includes gong sound effects and fortune cookie messages reading “Marsha Blackburn will fight to protect Tennessee land from China” and “Marsha Blackburn will close loopholes and hunt down communists.”
Blackburn has made opposition to China a centerpiece of her political career. During her 2024 Senate reelection campaign, she released a similar ad in which she smashed ceramic plates emblazoned with the Chinese flag while accusing China of espionage and claiming it “sent us a virus.” She has also proposed legislation to shut down Confucius Institutes at American universities and made a formal visit to Taiwan in 2022.
The new ad echoes those themes but comes as Blackburn’s lead in the Republican gubernatorial primary has narrowed significantly. According to polling released July 9, her support stands at 44 percent of likely GOP primary voters, down from a much larger margin earlier in the race. U.S. Rep. John Rose, her main rival, now sits at 29 percent—a gain of about 10 points in recent weeks as he has aired more than $1 million in television ads attacking Blackburn and touting his own record.
Rose has also emphasized China-related concerns in his campaign, pledging to “outlaw China from buying land in Tennessee.” When asked whether Blackburn’s ad was a response to Rose’s messaging, her campaign rejected the comparison, with a spokesperson questioning Rose’s commitment to the issue and citing a 2022 statement in which he said he was not “gravely concerned” about foreign nations owning Tennessee farmland.
Blackburn defended the ad to the Nashville Banner on Thursday, arguing that her intent is to challenge the Chinese Communist Party rather than Asian Americans. “No one is worse to the Chinese people than the CCP, and I am serious about taking them on,” she said in an emailed response. “Just look at my record of standing up to the CCP, they’ve even banned me from traveling to their country.”
The ad’s focus on farmland protection comes despite data showing minimal Chinese ownership of U.S. agricultural land. A registry maintained by the U.S. Department of Agriculture shows Chinese entities own 168 parcels of land nationwide, totaling 247,659 acres, with none located in Tennessee. The state legislature has already passed laws this year prohibiting China and North Korea from purchasing non-agricultural land, and additional legislation restricts businesses with significant Chinese interests from buying farmland.
When asked what specific policies she would enact as governor related to China beyond existing state laws, Blackburn committed to ending international partnerships with China and eliminating what she called “Chinese sister cities.” She also pledged to remove Confucius classrooms from Tennessee schools and prevent Chinese companies from gaining control of battery manufacturers and electric vehicle production.
The ad has drawn criticism for its use of Asian stereotypes. The Nashville Banner noted that fortune cookies, despite their association with Chinese dining, were actually invented in California during the early 20th century and have Japanese roots. The ad also received backlash from Tennessee’s Asian American and Pacific Islander community following Blackburn’s 2024 Senate campaign ad, though she has maintained that her criticism targets the Chinese Communist Party specifically, not Asian Americans or Asian culture.
Sources
- Nashville Banner — Ad transcript, details of filming location, Blackburn’s defense, policy commitments, and context on 2024 backlash from Asian American community
- The Tennessean — Ad description, airtime purchase amount, polling data showing Blackburn at 44% and Rose at 29%, USDA data on Chinese farmland ownership, state legislation details, and comparison to 2024 Senate campaign ad
- Electric 94.9 — Context on 2024 Senate campaign ad with ceramic plates
