Tennessee poised to have its first female governor

Blackburn defeated U.S. Rep. John Rose and state Rep. Monty Fritts. Tennessee requires just a plurality of the vote to win a primary. 

"I couldn't be happier that we are going to have the first female governor in Tennessee," said U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett at Blackburn's election party, streamed on social media. 

Blackburn greeted her supporters in Knoxville to Dolly Parton's "My Tennessee Mountain Home." 

"To anyone who is watching this and supported another candidate, I invite you to come join our team," Blackburn said. "We absolutely have to unite as a party and defeat the Democrats in November." 

Blackburn was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2018. She served as Tennessee's 7th District representative in Congress from 2003 to 2019. Before that, she was a Tennessee state senator from 1999 to 2003. 

Before serving as a member of the Memphis City Council, Green was Shelby County's chief public defender, according to her campaign website. 

Green led candidates Carnita Atwater, Tim Cyr, Adam Kurtz and Kevin Lee McCants with more than 70% of votes as early returns were reported by the Tennessee Secretary of State's Office.  She thanked her opponents on social media. 

"I’m Jerri Green, and I’m proud to say I am officially your Democratic nominee for governor – making history as the first woman ever nominated by our party to be the next governor of Tennessee," Green said in the post. "We started this movement because Tennessee families deserve a leader who fights for groceries they can afford, world-class public schools, and healthcare that doesn’t bankrupt them – not out-of-touch extremists answering only to the wealthy and well-connected."

In the only other statewide race on the ballot, Republican U.S. Sen. Bill Hagerty ran unopposed. He will face Democrat Marquita Bradshaw, who defeated four other candidates in November. Eight independent candidates will also be on the general election ballot.