Blackburn Wins Republican Nomination for Tennessee Governor

Senator Marsha Blackburn has won the Republican nomination for Tennessee governor. She defeated two rivals, Rep. John Rose and state Rep. Monty Fritts, in the primary election. According to CBS News, with about two-thirds of ballots counted, Blackburn led Rose 43.8% to 32.6%.

Blackburn is now favored to become the state's first female governor after the November elections, given Tennessee's heavy Republican lean. The Democratic nominee, Jerri Green, will face Blackburn in the general election.

All three candidates in the primary tried to portray themselves as the most conservative. Blackburn featured President Trump in her announcement video, while her opponents attempted to cast her as not sufficiently aligned with him, citing her vote to certify the 2020 election results. Blackburn raised $10.8 million for her campaign, while Rose spent $13 million of his own money.

Brief written by urgent.news from The New York Times, CBS News — 2 reports on this story. Machine-written — read the original for the full account.