Tennessee Governor Race 2026: Blackburn vs. Green

Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R) faces Memphis City Councilwoman Jerri Green (D) for the seat term-limited Gov. Bill Lee (R) is leaving, so the winner will be Tennessee's first female governor. Thirteen independents are also on the ballot, among them businessman David Hatley (I), who says he will spend up to $20 million of his own money, and former Lipscomb University professor Lauren Pinkston (I).

Blackburn is running on economic growth and tax cuts, immigration enforcement, women's sports, and public safety. Her most specific state-level idea is a "bell to bell, no cell" ban on student phones for the whole school day, beyond the instructional-time limit in the 2025 state law. She has declined to debate; her campaign said "I'm not going to give air to a socialist candidate"; Green's campaign proposed four dates and says she will show up either way.

Green is running on raising the minimum wage to at least $20 an hour, ending the grocery sales tax by closing corporate loopholes and Lee's corporate tax rebate program, expanding Medicaid to protect rural hospitals, and defunding the school voucher program in her first budget. On energy, Blackburn backs small modular reactors at Oak Ridge and fossil fuels, while Green wants a statewide data center moratorium. A Blackburn win would open her U.S. Senate seat, and she plans to choose her replacement once she is governor.