U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn won Tennessee's Republican primary for governor Thursday, defeating two fellow Republican officeholders to advance to a November general election against Memphis City Councilmember Jerri Green, who won the Democratic nomination, in the state's first open gubernatorial race since 2018. Green, a self-described common-sense Democrat with a background in local government, won her party's primary with roughly 70% of the vote in a broader Democratic field. Both women stand to become Tennessee's first female governor, succeeding term-limited Republican Gov. A pro-Blackburn outside group, the Tennessee Freedom Fund, spent heavily on advertisements featuring past clips of Trump praising her. Given Tennessee's heavy Republican lean in statewide elections — Democrats have not won a statewide race in the state since 2006 — Blackburn enters the general election as the heavy favorite to become the state's next governor.