For months political insiders have listed U.S. Congressman John Rose as a potential candidate for governor in 2026, and that talk heated up Wednesday night following comments at a Republican Women of Williamson County event.¶
Multiple news outlets including Fox 17 in Nashville and the Williamson Herald, along with the organization itself, reported that Rose announced he’s running for governor at the event.¶
“MAKING NEWS! Yesterday at RWWC‘s February luncheon, Congressman John Rose announced his plans to run for governor of Tennessee in 2026,” wrote members of the Republican Women of Williamson County on Facebook.¶
The 6 District Congressman from Cookeville has not made an official gubernatorial campaign announcement, nor has he launched a campaign website, but this week’s event is a sign Rose is moving towards that.¶
The Williamson Herald reported that Rose listed five major issues to attendees at the Republican Women of Williamson County event that he plans to highlight during the campaign including education, transportation and infrastructure, access to health care, energy and economic development.¶
“The great news is we’ve seen real significant success in education,” said Rose in the Williamson Herald story. “We’re moving in the right direction. My goal is, in the next eight years Tennessee is seen in the top 10 to 15 best [states for education] in the country.”¶
Rose is currently serving his fourth term as a congressman. According to his website bio, he was raised in Cookeville and grew up working with his father on their more than 230-year-old family farm in the Temperance Hall and Lancaster communities of DeKalb and Smith Counties.¶
Rose previously served as the commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Agriculture and would be expected to champion efforts to expand access to career and technical education (CTE) for Tennessee students.¶
Current Tennessee Governor Bill Lee is term-limited and not eligible to run for re-election.¶
Other potential Republican candidates political insiders say could be considering running for governor include Ole Smoky Distillery owner Joseph Baker, CoreCivic CEO Damon Hininger, and U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn.¶
U.S. Senator Bill Haggerty announced earlier this month that he’s planning to run for re-election to the Senate instead of mounting a gubernatorial run.¶
On the other side of the aisle, no leading Democrats have announced their candidacy for governor. The party has struggled to field well-funded candidates for state races and hasn’t won one since former Governor Phil Bredesen won re-election in 2006.¶
