Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn greets supporters in Memphis on Election Day, November 5, 2024. (Tennessee Lookout/ Karen Pulfer Focht)
Republican U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn defeated Democratic state Rep. Gloria Johnson, securing a second term from Tennessee voters.
The Associated Press called the race at 7:02 p.m. Tuesday, two minutes after polls closed, when early voting results showed Blackburn leading Johnson by a significant margin.
Blackburn ran a low-key race, declining to participate in debates or forums with Johnson, which has become routine for incumbents. Her campaign ran ads touting her strong stances against China and immigration.
Blackburn’s political career began in the Tennessee state House, where she rose to prominence, leading the opposition to a measure by then-Republican Gov. Don Sundquist to enact a state income tax in 2000, a move she also highlighted in ads this election cycle.
Blackburn served in the U.S. House from 2003 until she defeated Gov. Phil Bredesen, a Democrat, in the 2018 U.S. Senate race after Republican U.S. Sen. Bob Corker declined to run for reelection. Bredesen was the last Democrat to win a statewide race, but Blackburn handily beat him 55% to 44%.
Johnson, a Knoxville Democrat, entered the race in September 2023 after gaining national recognition when she narrowly avoided being expelled from the legislature after GOP lawmakers ousted two other Democrats — the trio became known as the “Tennessee Three” — for leading a protest from the House floor earlier that year.
Blackburn held a considerable cash advantage over Johnson, raising more than $17 million since her 2018 election, according to an Oct. 16 filing with the Federal Election Commission. Johnson raised $7.2 million but could never effectively break through in a state that hasn’t elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate since 1988.
Despite the loss, Johnson was able to run and won reelection to her state House seat in the next year’s general assembly.
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