Candidates for Tennessee Governor: Republicans, Democrats, and Vouchers

Twenty-seven candidates filed to run for Tennessee governor in 2026, competing to replace term-limited Governor Bill Lee, who leaves office in January 2027. Five Republicans, six Democrats, and sixteen independents made the ballot by the March 10, 2026, filing deadline.¹ The primary is August 6, 2026, and the general election is November 3, 2026. U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn holds a commanding lead on the Republican side, and Memphis Councilmember Jerri Green is the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination.

The Republican Candidates

The GOP primary is effectively a three-way race among Blackburn, Congressman John Rose, and State Representative Monty Fritts. The two other filers, Rebecca Lynn Inman and Carlton Boleyjack, round out the ballot.¹

Marsha Blackburn

Blackburn announced her campaign in August 2025 after nearly three decades in public office: four years in the Tennessee state senate, 16 years in the U.S. House, and a U.S. Senate seat she has held since 2019.¹ Her platform centers on economic growth, stopping illegal immigration, protecting women’s sports, and public safety.² She has been a vocal advocate for expanding Tennessee’s private school voucher program.

Her campaign leans heavily on her ties to President Trump.³⁴² Jacobs is term-limited as mayor, and his role has fueled speculation that Blackburn could appoint him to fill her U.S. Senate seat, which runs through 2031, if she wins.⁵

A May 2026 Beacon Center poll of 1,200 Tennessee voters put Blackburn at 63 percent in the primary, up from 56 percent in January, and ahead of Green by 24 points in a hypothetical general election.⁶ One soft spot: a 2025 Beacon poll measured her at negative-18 net favorability among independents, compared with Lee’s positive-4.⁷

John Rose

Congressman John Rose has framed his candidacy around what he calls a businessman’s approach to leadership and has campaigned in all 95 Tennessee counties.⁸ He points to a 100 percent lifetime score from Heritage Action and to his vote against certifying the 2020 presidential election results. His stated priorities include protecting natural resources, funding education, addressing infrastructure backlogs, expanding healthcare access, and increasing energy production.

Rose has repeatedly challenged Blackburn to debate, criticizing her for holding what he called scripted events rather than public town halls. As of late June 2026 no debates had been scheduled, and Rose said he would not debate Fritts unless Blackburn also participated. He has also pledged to withhold state economic incentives from companies he considers “woke,” citing a $30 million package for Starbucks.

Rose trails Blackburn badly in polling (10 percent in the May 2026 Beacon poll) but has a large financial cushion.⁶ He loaned his campaign $5 million and reported total receipts of over $6.4 million, with $4.7 million cash on hand as of early 2026.⁹ His financial disclosure lists a personal net worth between $23 million and $95 million.³

Monty Fritts

State Representative Monty Fritts represents Tennessee House District 32 and announced his candidacy in September 2025.¹⁰ The two-term legislator has positioned himself as the anti-establishment option, arguing that Republican leadership in Nashville has ignored grassroots voters. He received an 85 percent “Limited Government” alignment score from the Institute for Legislative Analysis in 2023 and has backed legislation on school choice expansion, firearms liability protections, and voter district verification.¹¹

His career campaign fundraising totals just over $59,000, far below either of his primary opponents.¹² The May 2026 Beacon poll placed him at 5 percent.

Why Trump Has Not Endorsed Anyone

Every major Republican candidate has worked to align with President Trump, which makes his decision to stay neutral one of the defining dynamics of the race. During a March 2026 trip to Memphis, Trump told members of the Tennessee congressional delegation aboard Air Force One that he would not endorse Blackburn, saying that “John [Rose] has been good to me.”¹³ Witnesses suggested his reluctance stemmed in part from Blackburn’s vote to certify the 2020 election results, in contrast to Rose’s vote against certification.

Trump has publicly called Blackburn “an incredible person” and acknowledged her as the likely next governor, but he also previously told her, “Marsha, don’t. We don’t want to lose you in the Senate.” Analysts have noted the non-endorsement carries little risk for Trump when both frontrunners are already running as Trump candidates.¹⁴

The Democratic Candidates

Six Democrats filed: Jerri Green, Carnita Atwater, Tim Cyr, Martin DePorres Kennedy, Adam “Ditch” Kurtz, and Kevin Lee McCants.¹ No Democrat has won statewide office in Tennessee since 2006.¹⁵

Jerri Green

Green is a Memphis city councilmember serving her first term, a former public defender, and deputy chief of staff for Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris.¹⁶ She launched her campaign in Nashville in July 2025. Her platform calls for expanded paid family and medical leave, fully funded public schools, Medicaid expansion for rural Tennesseans, protection of reproductive healthcare access, and gun safety measures including background checks and red flag laws.¹⁷

She has endorsements from Congressman Steve Cohen, Mayor Harris, several state legislators, Teamsters Local 667, and the National Women’s Political Caucus. On the Memphis City Council, she led the passage of a 2024 resolution expanding mental health care for police officers who witness traumatic incidents.

Green polled at 14 percent in the May 2026 Beacon poll — a modest absolute number, but 62 percent of Democratic voters were undecided, and prediction markets gave her roughly a 90 percent chance of winning the nomination.⁶

The Other Democrats

Kevin Lee McCants polled at 11 percent in May and Carnita Atwater at 8 percent, with Atwater, a Memphis community activist, having previously run in the 2022 gubernatorial primary.⁶ Public campaign information on Cyr, Kennedy, and Kurtz is scarce.

Independent Candidates

Sixteen independents filed by the March deadline: Misam Abidi, Santiago Asconape, Trystin Ian Blum, Dean Brewer, Ray Brown, Taylor Hafley, David Hatley, Wendell Jackson, Charles Van Morgan, Eddie Lee Murphy, Lauren Pinkston, Victor L. Scoggin, Dave Seeman, Karl Knox Smithson, L. Webb Taylor, and Robert C. Vick.¹ Little public information is available about most of their platforms or backgrounds.

School Vouchers and the Money Behind the Race

Expansion of Tennessee’s private school voucher program, the Education Freedom Scholarship, has become a central issue. Governor Lee pushed to expand it to 40,000 students, directing an estimated $303 million in public funds to private schools. The Tennessee Department of Education reported 58,000 applications for the upcoming school year, and the legislature voted by a three-vote margin to expand the program to 35,000 students.¹⁸

The issue connects directly to the governor’s race through the Club for Growth’s School Freedom Fund, financed largely by billionaire Jeff Yass ($27 million of the fund’s $30 million since 2023). The group spent $4.5 million during the 2024 legislative cycle and a 2025 special election, winning five of six primaries it targeted. Its president, David McIntosh, said Republicans who oppose vouchers “should expect a very expensive primary that you’ll probably lose.”¹⁹

Yass has also given $1 million to Team Tennessee, the PAC supporting Blackburn, making him its largest single donor.²⁰ Other top contributors to the PAC include Advance Financial ($400,000), Tamara Stephens ($279,000), Spencer Patton ($250,000), and six-figure donations from CoreCivic and Reynolds American. Between her campaign account and Team Tennessee, Blackburn had raised $7.5 million and held $4.2 million in combined cash by March 2026, drawing from more than 33,000 individual contributors and setting a Tennessee record for contributions to a gubernatorial campaign in a single fundraising period.²¹ Unlike Rose, she has not self-funded; her personal net worth is listed between $650,000 and $1.7 million.

Critics of the voucher expansion, including state Representative Jody Barrett (targeted by nearly $800,000 in opposition spending), have raised concerns about its impact on public school funding and about the lack of transparency on recipient income data.

When to Vote

Early voting for the primary runs from July 17 through August 1, 2026. Primary Election Day is August 6, 2026, and the general election is November 3, 2026.¹⁷ The winners of the Republican and Democratic primaries will face each other, along with any qualifying independents, on the November ballot.

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Nashville Banner. Governor Tennessee Candidates Marsha Blackburn John Rose
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Marsha Blackburn. Marsha Blackburn for Governor
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Tennessee Lookout. FEC Filings Reveal How Blackburn Laid the Groundwork for Governor Campaign Without Personal Fortune
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WATE. Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs To Be Campaign Treasurer in Blackburn’s Run for Governor
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WVLT. Knox County Mayor to Be Marsha Blackburn’s Campaign Treasurer
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Beacon Center of Tennessee. Beacon Poll May 2026 Results
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NewsChannel 9. New Poll: What Tennesseans Think of Federal Cuts, Gov. Lee, Property Tax Ban
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The Tennessean. Tennessee GOP Governor Candidates Share Plans
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John Rose for Governor. News
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Tennessee Bar Association. Monty Fritts Announces Candidacy for Governor
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Institute for Legislative Analysis. Monty Fritts (R) – TN Rep. 32
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FollowTheMoney.org. Monty Fritts – Candidate Details
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Nashville Banner. Donald Trump Marsha Blackburn John Rose Endorsement
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NewsChannel 5. What’s the Impact of Pres. Trump Withholding His Endorsement in the GOP Primary for Tennessee Governor
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Tennessee Lookout. Tennessee’s 2026 Candidate Lists Finalized for State and Federal Races
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The Commercial Appeal. Memphis City Councilwoman Jerri Green Enters Tennessee Governor’s Race
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Green for Governor. Jerri Green for Governor
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Chalkbeat Tennessee. Voucher Expansion Backed by Bill Lee Advances in General Assembly
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Tennessee Lookout. As TN Expands Private School Vouchers, Money in Favor Continues to Lead Political Spending
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Tennessee Lookout. Billionaire Jeff Yass Gives $1M to PAC Supporting Sen. Marsha Blackburn’s Gubernatorial Campaign
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Axios Nashville. Sen. Blackburn Sets Fundraising Record for Tennessee Governor