Tennessee’s gubernatorial race is set with an all-women general election after U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn and Memphis City Councilwoman Jerri Green won their respective party primaries on August 6, guaranteeing the state its first female governor when voters go to the polls on November 3.
Blackburn clinched the Republican nomination with 43.8% of the primary vote, defeating U.S. Representative John Rose, who received 32.7%, and state Representative Monty Fritts of Kingston, who got 23.4%, according to the Tennessee Lookout. Green won the Democratic primary with nearly 70% of the vote, defeating Carnita Atwater and three other Democratic candidates.
Blackburn, who has served in elected office for more than 30 years, built a commanding advantage through her long political tenure and prior Republican Party activism. A native of Mississippi and former image consultant, she organized the first Young Republicans group outside of East Tennessee in Williamson County in the early 1980s before chairing that county’s Republican Party. She was elected to the Tennessee Senate in 1998, then to the U.S. House in 2002, and in 2018 became the first woman to represent Tennessee in the U.S. Senate, defeating former two-term Democratic Governor Phil Bredesen by 12 percentage points in a race that cost over $90 million, according to the Tennessee Lookout.
Green’s path to the Democratic nomination was less traditional. A Memphis City Council member who previously served as deputy chief of staff to the county mayor, Green cited her experience working in the judicial, legislative, and executive branches across Tennessee’s three grand divisions as qualifications for the governor’s office. In interviews, she emphasized personal motivations including concerns about school safety after her children experienced active shooter lockdowns, reproductive rights for her daughter, and public school funding for her youngest child with special needs, according to WSMV News.
The race marks a historic moment for Tennessee. As of 2026, Tennessee was one of 19 states that had never elected a female governor, according to the Wikipedia list of female governors. Both candidates are women, making this the state’s first all-woman partisan gubernatorial field. Blackburn, at 74, would also become the oldest person to be inaugurated as Tennessee governor if elected, according to reporting on her candidacy.
The general election takes place against the backdrop of an open-seat race. Governor Bill Lee is barred from seeking a third consecutive term, making the 2026 election an open-seat contest in which voters will choose the state’s chief executive and commander-in-chief of its military forces when not in federal service. The office also carries significant clemency, appointment, legislative, and budget powers.
Blackburn’s campaign focused on her long record and alignment with conservative priorities. She refused to debate or appear in public forums with her Republican opponents and faced criticism over leaked documents from a Senate Ethics Committee investigation alleging her campaign manager urged Senate staff members to participate in campaign activities, a violation of federal law, according to the Tennessee Lookout.
Green’s campaign centered on issues including gun violence reduction—she started Shelby County’s first free gun lock-by-mail program, which was later adopted statewide—as well as reproductive rights, immigration reform, and environmental protection. She promised to sign an executive order to protect reproductive rights and enable doctors to practice women’s healthcare without threat of prosecution, and pledged to ban ICE from entering state buildings if elected, according to WSMV News.
Sources
- Tennessee Lookout — Blackburn’s primary victory, vote percentages, her political history, and the all-woman race context
- WSMV News — Green’s primary victory, her background as Memphis City Council member, her policy priorities, and the open-seat race context
- NBC News — Confirmation that Blackburn is the first woman to represent Tennessee in the U.S. Senate and would be the first female governor
- New York Times — Blackburn’s primary victory and her status as favored for the general election
- Wikipedia — Tennessee as one of 19 states never to elect a female governor as of 2026
