Republican Nominee and Mississippi Native Marsha Blackburn Ahead in TN Senate Race

By Anna Grace Usery
Editor-in-Chief
anna.grace.usery@hottytoddy.com

Hype over election day is ramping up in Mississippi as many party-dominant seats could be challenged in the midterm vote. However, one Mississippi native is vying for a Senate seat in Tennessee because incumbent Bob Corker decided not to run. 

Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn is running against former governor Phil Bredesen for the Tennessee Senate seat. Photo from Blackburn’s website.

Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn, a Republican, has roots in the Magnolia State. She was born in Laurel and spent her college years at Mississippi State University majoring in home economics.

Blackburn is running against Democrat Phil Bredesen, who is the former mayor of Nashville and governor of the state of Tennessee from 2003 to 2011. She leads Bredesen by a daunting 14 percentage points, according to Tennessee’s latest major public poll.

She began her elected service career in 1998 as a Tennessee State Senator. Her Senate career was marked by her commitment to fiscal common sense and government accountability, repeatedly advocating for fewer regulations and policies that enabled businesses to grow, according to her website.

Her main priorities in hopes of filling the Senate seat are as follows:

• Fight to bring significant tax relief to hard-working Tennesseans
• Fight to cut wasteful spending
• Fight for veterans
• Fight to secure borders and ensure existing immigration laws are followed

Blackburn recently received the cold shoulder from country music star Taylor Swift after she posted to her personal Instagram page her distaste for Blackburn’s political views.

Photo from Taylor Swift’s Instagram.

“As much as I have in the past and would like to continue voting for women in office, I cannot support Marsha Blackburn,” Swift wrote. “(Her political views) are not MY Tennessee values. I will be voting for Phil Bredesen for Senate and Jim Cooper for House of Representatives.”

Registered Tennessee voter and Ole Miss graduate Hoppy Langley said he’s followed Congresswoman Blackburn since she was elected into Congress. 

“I’m a big fan of hers because of her conservative values and voting record,” he said. “I value her respect of President Trump.” 

Langley said he’s moving to Oxford in 30 days but is glad to still be able to cast his vote for who he believes is the best candidate for Tennessee.  

A group of Lafayette County Republican volunteers will be leading a group to Franklin, Tennessee to campaign for Blackburn Oct. 22. Organizers are asking anyone interested to please join them at 6 a.m. in the Oxford Conference Center parking lot. Volunteers will load a chartered bus that will return at 9 p.m.

For those wishing to travel with the group to Tennessee, contact Steve Vassallo at sovassallo@gmail.com due to limited travel space.