At Marsha Blackburn’s election night watch party, kids in red “Marsha” baseball caps yawned as their parents huddled over phones in the dark pit of the Pinnacle, a relatively new music venue in downtown Nashville.
On stage, Republican state Sen. Jack Johnson’s band, the Austin Brothers, kept the crowd warm longer than they might have anticipated. For the past two decades, Tennessee’s governor’s race has been called within an hour of polls closing. But late Tuesday night, the results were still trickling in.
Marianna Bacallao WPLN NewsThe Austin Brothers play at Marsha Blackburn’s election night watch party on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026.
Johnson and his band played for two hours as a slideshow of Marsha Blackburn photos repeated on a giant screen behind them. When Blackburn finally did take the stage, the Associated Press hadn’t yet called the race.
At the end of the night, Blackburn had won by 3%.
‘A conservative beacon’
The majority of Tennessee voters did not choose Marsha Blackburn. But the 74-year-old political titan seems to be making the most of a glass 45.5% full.
Blackburn wasn’t a victim of the blue wave like longtime Republican Gov. Greg Abbott in Texas.
Tennessee won’t transition from a Republican administration to a Democratic one the same way Georgia will when Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms is sworn into the governor’s office in January.
“Look at what happened in different states last night around the country. What we do know is that Tennessee stood out as a conservative beacon,” Blackburn said at a press conference the morning after the election.
Current Gov. Bill Lee welcomed Blackburn to the state Capitol on Wednesday as they prepare to transition to the next administration. Deputy Governor Stuart McWhorter has been tapped to lead that effort.
Marianna Bacallao WPLN NewsTennessee governor-elect Marsha Blackburn (left) meets with current Gov. Bill Lee (right) on Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026.
In his speech, Lee praised the legacy of both Democratic and Republican governors and stressed the importance of a smooth transition of power, although the office will remain within the same political party.
“Gov. Bredesen stood at this podium with Gov. Haslam, and they discussed the transition from one governor to the other. This is what we do in Tennessee. We work together, regardless of political party, to make certain that the government continues to serve her people effectively,” Lee said.
Blackburn pledged to work with the state legislature to bring down the cost of living. Affordability had not been a focus of her campaign; her best-known ad featured her smashing fortune cookies as a symbol of defiance against China’s growing economic power.
In her victory speech, Blackburn also nodded to her plurality win.
“I fully appreciate that not every Tennessean voted for me, but I can tell you this: I will be a governor for each and every Tennessean,” Blackburn said. “It is time for all Tennesseans to come together for the good of our state.”
Blackburn will not step down from her U.S. Senate seat until after she’s sworn in as governor, giving her the power to pick her temporary replacement. She would not say who that might be, but whoever she picks will have to survive a special congressional race in the fall of 2027 to retain the seat.
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