NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee state Rep. Gloria Johnson has won the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate and will face off against Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn in November, pitting a survivor of a Republican-led expulsion effort over a gun control protest against a close ally of former President Donald Trump.
Johnson defeated three primary opponents, including Marquita Bradshaw, a Memphis community activist and organizer who notably won the Democratic Senate nomination in 2020 then lost to Republican Bill Hagerty by a wide margin.
During Tennessee’s primary, Republican Rep. Andy Ogles also managed to defeat a well-funded opponent, Nashville council member Courtney Johnston, as he pursues a second term in Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District.
Blackburn overcame a Republican primary challenge from Tres Wittum, a former Tennessee legislative staffer who placed last in the 5th Congressional District primary in 2022.
Tennessee has solely elected GOP statewide candidates for nearly two decades. Blackburn also heads into the fall campaign with a significant edge in campaign cash over any of the Democrats.
Blackburn first won the Tennessee Senate seat in 2018, defeating Democratic former Gov. Phil Bredesen by almost 11 percentage points.
Johnson became nationally known after Republican lawmakers tried to expel her over a gun control protest but came up a vote short despite kicking out two of her Democratic colleagues.
Last year, days after a school shooting that killed three children and three adults, Johnson joined fellow Democratic Reps. Justin Pearson and Justin Jones as they walked to the front of the state House floor with a bullhorn. The trio joined the chants and cries for gun control legislation by protesters in the public galleries and outside of the chamber.
The trio were quickly dubbed the “Tennessee Three” as they soon faced expulsion hearings for violating House rules. Pearson and Jones, who are both Black, were expelled then later returned to office, while Johnson, who is white, was spared by one vote. Shortly after the expulsion vote, Johnson quickly noted that she avoided expulsion likely because she was white. Republicans denied race was a factor.
Blackburn headed into the primary with almost $8.8 million in cash on hand, a significant fundraising edge. Johnson had more than $2 million available after raising about $5 million since entering the race.
Blackburn said in a statement Thursday that she was “grateful” for the voters who threw their support behind her.
“In the U.S. Senate, I will continue to champion conservative, America First policies by working to lower taxes, secure the border, support our veterans, hold Big Tech accountable, and ensure our adversaries fear us again,” she said. “This November, Republicans must unite to take control of the U.S. Senate, keep the House of Representatives, and elect President Donald Trump to the White House.”
Johnson said in a fundraising pitch after her win, “the real fight begins now.”
“Imagine a better future for Tennessee: Extremism? We’ll reject it. Reproductive rights? We’ll defend them. Our democracy? We’ll fight for it. Better opportunities for working families? You bet we’ll make it happen,” Johnson wrote.
Meanwhile, Ogles leveraged his own endorsement from Trump to defeat Nashville council member Courtney Johnston, who had received campaign checks from prominent Republicans including former U.S. Sens. Bill Frist and Bob Corker and former Gov. Bill Haslam.
Ogles faces Democrat Maryam Abolfazli, who was unopposed in her party's primary, in the fall.
Johnston had hoped that Ogles has irked enough Republicans by creating headaches over questions about his resume, inaccurate campaign finance reporting and a headline-grabbing approach to lawmaking.
Ogles first won the congressional seat in 2022 after Tennessee Republicans redrew the district to include a part of left-leaning Nashville.
Leaders representing the growing city sharply criticized the redistricting, saying it diluted Nashville’s interests by dividing it into three congressional districts that include wide swaths of rural Tennessee. The concerns grew with the election of Ogles, a former mayor of Maury County two counties south of Nashville.
Since his election in 2022, Ogles has been a vocal critic of the Biden administration and last year filed articles to impeach President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. He filed new articles to impeach Harris after she became the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination following Biden’s exit from the 2024 race.
In the state legislature, about half of the state’s 33 Senate seats and all 99 House seats are up for election this year. Republicans currently have supermajorities in both chambers. And the incumbent U.S. House lawmakers are all seeking reelection.
Kimberlee Kruesi And Jonathan Mattise, The Associated Press
