Tennessee elects Blackburn as first female governor by thin margin – WPLN News

Tennessee elects Blackburn as first female governor by thin margin  WPLN News

Longtime Republican U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn will make history as Tennessee’s first female governor without the majority of the vote. Blackburn beat out Longtime Republican U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn will make history as Tennessee’s first female governor without the majority of the vote. Blackburn beat out her Democratic opponent by less than 3 percentage points. Memphis City Council member Jerri Green managed to make some inroads in ruby red Tennessee at a time when President Donald Trump’s approval rating is at a historic low. Blackburn claimed victory before the race had officially been called Tuesday night, pledging to put the state budget on a “GLP-1,” or, as she defined it, a “government-lessening plan.” “We’re going to skinny up that state budget,” Blackburn said.

Blackburn also took a swipe at Green’s calls for the senator to debate her and other independent challengers, saying she wouldn’t run this campaign on the media or any other candidate’s terms. Conservative independent David Hatley took some voters away from the mainline Republican party with roughly 10% of the vote. Hatley, who self-funded his campaign, slammed Blackburn for taking out-of-state money for her gubernatorial bid. In turn, Blackburn and her supporters spent nearly $10 million attacking Hatley over his past bank fraud convictions. At 74 years old, Blackburn also makes history as Tennessee’s oldest governor. After