Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) won her bid to be the GOP’s nominee for Tennessee governor on Thursday, defeating Rep. John Rose (R-TN) in the Republican primary.
Blackburn defeated Rose by over 10 points, garnering 43.8% of the vote to Rose’s 32.7%. State Rep. Monty Fritts trailed behind with 23.4% of the vote, according to the Associated Press results from Thursday evening.
The Tennessee senator had been seen as the front-runner in the Republican primary since she declared her candidacy to succeed term-limited Gov. Bill Lee (R-TN) in August 2025. Polling in the primary had largely pointed to Blackburn leading by double digits, though Rose seemingly made headway in recent weeks, tightening the margins as he added millions of dollars of self-funding to his campaign war chest.
In deep-red Tennessee, which has not elected a Democratic governor in over a decade or senator since 1990, Blackburn is largely expected to coast through the general election and keep the governor’s mansion in Republican hands.
Blackburn and Rose each vied for the GOP gubernatorial bid by pledging their allegiance to President Donald Trump‘s agenda, who withheld an endorsement in the three-way race. Each of their campaign websites and video advertisements features imagery of the president, as they focused on economic issues and backing Trump’s stances on immigration and election integrity.
“When the establishment pushed a state income tax, I led the fight to kill it. Then, I took on Big Tech to protect our kids online. As your governor, I’ll keep Tennessee SAFE, PROSPEROUS, and FREE,” Blackburn posted on X days before the primary, alongside an ad with a clip of Trump calling her a “true fighter for the people of Tennessee.”
The race between an ideologically similar Rose and Blackburn became a battle of who could court Trump’s MAGA voters. Rose outspent Blackburn with a largely self-funded $15 million in the bank compared to Blackburn’s $10.8 million, according to the Tennessee Lookout.
TRUMP RE-UPS ENDORSEMENT OF ANDY OGLES AMID TOUGH TENNESSEE PRIMARY
Rose was one of the U.S. congressmen who voted not to certify the 2020 election of President Joe Biden, while Blackburn did vote to certify the results. Rose consistently hit Blackburn on this throughout the primary.
Blackburn will face Memphis City Councilwoman Jerri Green, the Democratic primary winner, in the general election.