Meet the Candidates
The August 6, 2026 primary set the ballot: Marsha Blackburn (R) faces Jerri Green (D) on November 3, 2026. Every candidate who ran is below, with what they raised and where they stand on education.
General Election · November 3, 2026
The General Election Ballot
Marsha Blackburn and Jerri Green won their parties' nominations in the August 6, 2026 primary. Results are complete but unofficial until county election commissions certify them by August 24, 2026. They share the November 3, 2026 ballot with 13 independent candidates who qualified by petition, for 15 names in all.
Marsha Blackburn
U.S. Senator
Close ally of President Trump with statewide name recognition from two Senate elections. Would be Tennessee's first female governor. Campaign raised $6.73M since announcing in August 2025 across nearly 48,000 contributions, plus a separate Team Tennessee PAC has raised $3.2M to support her bid.
Jerri Green
Memphis City Councilor, District 2
Georgetown Law grad, former public defender, three-time gun violence survivor. The only Democrat with current elected office and a statewide campaign operation. Endorsed by Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris and the Tennessee Education Association.
At a Glance
Quick Compare| Candidate | Party | Raised | Ed. Freedom Scholarship | School Choice | Charters | Teacher Pay | TISA Funding | Workforce | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marsha Blackburn | R | $10.74M | Supports | Supports | Supports | No Position | No Position | Supports | → |
| Monty Fritts | R | $315K | Opposes | Opposes | No Position | No Position | No Position | No Position | → |
| John Rose | R | $14.97M | Supports | Supports | Supports | Supports | Supports | Supports | → |
| Carnita Atwater | D | $0 | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | → |
| Tim Cyr | D | $40 | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | → |
| Jerri Green | D | $850K | Opposes | Opposes | No Position | Supports | Supports | Supports | → |
| Adam "Ditch" Kurtz | D | $14K | Opposes | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | → |
| Kevin Lee McCants | D | $0 | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | → |
Republican Primary · August 6, 2026
Marsha Blackburn won the Republican nomination with 43.6% of the vote (311,328 votes), ahead of John Rose at 32.9% and Monty Fritts at 23.5%.
Marsha Blackburn
U.S. Senator
Close ally of President Trump with statewide name recognition from two Senate elections. Would be Tennessee's first female governor. Campaign raised $6.73M since announcing in August 2025 across nearly 48,000 contributions, plus a separate Team Tennessee PAC has raised $3.2M to support her bid.
Monty Fritts
State Representative, District 32
Anti-establishment Army veteran and Y-12 nuclear complex manager. One of roughly 20 House Republicans to vote against the Education Freedom Scholarship Act.
John Rose
U.S. Representative, TN-6
Family farmer, IT businessman, and former Commissioner of Agriculture. Self-funded $5M of his campaign and has run TV ads statewide. Q1 2026 fundraising fell to roughly $150K, far behind Blackburn's $1.23M Q1 haul.
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Democratic Primary · August 6, 2026
Jerri Green won the Democratic nomination with 69.0% of the vote (244,194 votes), ahead of Carnita Atwater at 17.9%, Kevin Lee McCants at 5.4%, Tim Cyr at 4.2%, and Adam "Ditch" Kurtz at 3.5%.
Carnita Atwater
Memphis community advocate
Memphis community advocate, museum president, and 2022 Democratic gubernatorial candidate (third place). Also ran for Memphis mayor in 2023. Career spans healthcare and higher-ed administration; currently leads the African American International Museum Foundation.
Tim Cyr
Home repair business owner
"Tennessee Tim" runs a home repair business in Gallatin. Previously ran for Illinois House District 109 in 2010 and the 2022 Tennessee gubernatorial primary. No campaign website or media coverage in the 2026 cycle.
Jerri Green
Memphis City Councilor, District 2
Georgetown Law grad, former public defender, three-time gun violence survivor. The only Democrat with current elected office and a statewide campaign operation. Endorsed by Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris and the Tennessee Education Association.
Adam "Ditch" Kurtz
Nashville musician & activist
Nashville pedal steel guitarist who launched his campaign at The 5 Spot in East Nashville in May 2025 with the slogan "By the people, for the people, I'm a people." Running a grassroots small-donor-only campaign that explicitly rejects corporate money.
Kevin Lee McCants
Democratic candidate
Filed on the deadline day to enter the Democratic primary. Polled at 11% in the Targoz Market Research April 20 to 27, 2026 Democratic primary survey, behind Jerri Green's 14% but ahead of the rest of the Democratic field.
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On the November Ballot · Independents · November 3, 2026
Thirteen Independents on the Ballot
13 independent candidates appear on the November 3, 2026 ballot for governor alongside the two party nominees. Independents qualify by petition rather than through a primary: 25 registered voters' signatures, filed with the Secretary of State by the March 10, 2026 deadline. None appeared on an August primary ballot.
Dean Brewer
Independent candidate
Knoxville independent who qualified by petition on the March 10 deadline. He has described a program to house homeless veterans and provide counseling and on-the-job trade training.
Ray Brown
Independent candidate
Oliver Springs independent, listed by Politics1 as an electrician, and the earliest of the 13 to file. He has said he intends to stand up against corruption in the legislative and judicial systems.
David Hatley
Businessman
Elizabethton-born entrepreneur from Gray who owns businesses in the Tri-Cities. His campaign says he built nine companies and created 750 Tennessee jobs, and he founded a hot tub manufacturer in East Tennessee.
Wendell Jackson
Independent candidate
Clarksville independent, listed by Politics1 as a spoken word performer and comedian, running what he calls a nonpartisan, no-money campaign built around employment, housing stability and healthcare.
Charles Van Morgan
Independent candidate
Knoxville independent listed by Politics1 as a businessman and former police officer. Ballotpedia records degrees from Tennessee Wesleyan, the University of Tennessee and the Nashville School of Law, and a career that includes a logistics business and service as a police officer and state trooper.
Eddie Lee Murphy
Independent candidate
Spring Hill independent who was one of eight Republican candidates in the October 7, 2025 special-election contest for Tennessee's 7th Congressional District.
Lauren Pinkston
Former Lipscomb University professor
Columbia independent who began her career as a fourth grade teacher, later earned a doctorate from Clemson, and taught at Lipscomb University from 2020 to 2023. She started businesses employing survivors of human trafficking. This is her first run for office.
Victor L. Scoggin
Independent candidate
Pegram independent and Navy veteran who describes himself as a retired volunteer firefighter of 43 years, a retired Ford and UAW journeyman, a river captain and a farmer, and who founded Save the Cumberland Inc.
Dave Seeman
Independent candidate
Nashville independent whose campaign site describes him as an engineer and small business owner, and who wrote a policy document he calls The Volunteer Plan.
Karl Knox Smithson
Independent candidate
McMinnville independent who qualified by petition on February 19, 2026. Politics1 lists him as a homeless community activist. No campaign website or published platform could be located.
L. Webb Taylor
Independent candidate
Memphis independent who qualified by petition on the March 10 deadline. Politics1 lists him as a corporate health and wellness consultant. No campaign website or published platform could be located.
Robert C. Vick
Educator
Dandridge independent who spent 40 years in East Tennessee public schools as a math teacher, coach, assistant principal, principal and athletic director in Hamblen, Jefferson and Cocke counties. He runs as a Christian independent.
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How We Track Candidates
Tennessee Firefly tracks all candidates who have filed qualifying petitions with the Tennessee Secretary of State. We categorize candidates as “major” or “minor” based on fundraising, polling presence, and media coverage.
Education stances are sourced from official campaign websites, debate transcripts, legislative voting records, and on-the-record statements. We reach out to every campaign for comment.
Fundraising figures come from the Tennessee Registry of Election Finance (TREF). We update numbers after each filing deadline and note when personal loans are included in totals.
If you believe any information is inaccurate or out of date, please contact our corrections desk. We take accuracy seriously and correct errors promptly.
Explore the Tracker
About this tracker
This tracker is produced by The Tennessee Firefly, an independent, nonpartisan news outlet covering education and government in Tennessee. We don't endorse candidates. We don't take political ads. We follow the money, the policy, and the people who shape your kids' schools. All data comes from official filings, verified reporting, and on-the-record sources, with freshness timestamps visible on every page that surfaces live data.