Border security, abortion and the economy are key issues as Tennesseans head to the polls to decide who will represent the Volunteer State in the U.S. Senate for the next six years. Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn is seeking a second term against state Rep. Gloria Johnson, D-Knoxville, whose political profile shot to national prominence last year amid gun control protests and the Tennessee Three expulsion hearings.
Blackburn is the favorite in what has become a solidly red state with low voter turnout. No Democrat has won statewide since 2006, and only one Democrat has cracked 40% of the vote since then. A Johnson win is an uphill battle, but many will be watching whether she can capitalize on the gun safety reform energy to improve Democratic margins and possibly illuminate a path forward for progressives in future election cycles in Tennessee.
Here’s what to know.
U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tennessee
Blackburn, 72, is the senior U.S. Senator from Tennessee, seeking reelection to a second term. Prior to her election to the Senate, Blackburn served eight terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, and before that served in the Tennessee Senate. Blackburn is a vocal supporter of former President Donald Trump, decrying his criminal conviction as a “total witch hunt.” She has earned Trump’s endorsement and rumors remain that she may be considered as a potential running mate. During her time in the U.S. Senate, Blackburn has sponsored successful bipartisan legislation aimed at creating new ways to protect children from exploitation online, and legislation seeking to curb smuggling and trafficking of women and girls. She has also been a vocal critic of the Chinese Communist Party, and advocate for securing the southern border, sponsoring legislation to end inclusion of people unlawfully in the United States for Congressional district apportionment.
Partnering with colleagues across the aisle, Blackburn has also sponsored legislation seeking to increase transparency in live event ticket sales and establish new consumer protections ― a matter she also grilled LiveNation-Ticketmaster executives on during Congressional hearings in 2023 after the Taylor Swift ticketing debacle. Blackburn has voted against U.S. financial aid to Ukraine, and voted against Democratic-led legislation codifying the right to in-vitro fertilization, condemning the vote as an election year political stunt and arguing that IVF is already legal in every state.
Rep. Gloria Johnson, D-Knoxville
Johnson has represented part of Knoxville in the Tennessee state House since 2012. She was catapulted to a national platform when the Republican-controlled state House attempted to expel her alongside two other Democrats in 2023 after she participated in gun control protest at the House podium in the middle of a legislative session. Republicans fell one vote short of expelling Johnson, as one member of the supermajority did not feel there was enough evidence to warrant expulsion. Johnson, alongside Reps. Justin Jones, D-Nashville, and Justin Pearson, D-Memphis ― who were both expelled, reappointed by their local legislatures, and ultimately reelected in special elections ― have come to be known as the “Tennessee Three.”
Their expulsion prompted a visit to Nashville from Vice President Kamala Harris, and the trio visited the White House last year following the expulsion hearings. Johnson is a 27-year veteran special education teacher, who is an outspoken supporter of fully funding public education and gun safety laws. She is also a vocal advocate for abortion rights, herself a survivor of a medically necessary abortion.
Independent candidates
Three independent candidates are also on the November ballot for U.S. Senate. Those candidates are Tharon Chandler, a Lawrenceburg native, farmer and Army veteran; Pamela Jeanine “P.” Moses, a former Memphis mayoral candidate; and Hastina Robinson, who moved to Memphis in 2005 and has a background as an emergency medical technician.
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Publish date : 2024-09-15 23:05:00
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