State executive race · November 3, 2026
Governor
Tennessee's chief executive, who signs or vetoes legislation, proposes the state budget and appoints department heads; Tennessee has no separately elected lieutenant governor on the ticket.
4-year term. Open seat: no incumbent is running. Open seat: Republican Gov. Bill Lee is term-limited. In the August 6, 2026 primaries, Marsha Blackburn won the Republican nomination with 43.6% of the vote over U.S. Rep. John Rose (32.9%) and state Rep. Monty Fritts (23.5%), and Jerri Green won the Democratic nomination with 69.0% over Carnita Atwater, Kevin Lee McCants, Tim Cyr and Adam "Ditch" Kurtz. Thirteen independent candidates qualified by petition. It is the first Tennessee governor's race in which both major-party nominees are women.
The candidates
Listed alphabetically by last name.
Misam Abidi of Nolensville qualified as an independent by petition, filed March 5, 2026. He describes himself as a businessman focused on financial education and emerging technology. His campaign, under the slogan "People Over Institutions," lists seven platform pillars, including cryptocurrency innovation, a Tennessee Dividend Fund and a skills guarantee for students.
Marsha Blackburn
U.S. Senator from Tennessee (since 2019)Marsha Blackburn is a Republican U.S. senator who previously served eight terms in the U.S. House and one term in the Tennessee Senate. She won the August 2026 Republican primary for governor with 43.6% of the vote over U.S. Rep. John Rose and state Rep. Monty Fritts, the first woman to be the Republican nominee for Tennessee governor. Her campaign emphasizes low taxes, cutting government spending, school choice, public safety and immigration enforcement.
Dean Brewer of Knoxville qualified as an independent by petition, filed March 10, 2026. No campaign website was found; a candidate tracker reports he has described a program to house homeless veterans with counseling and on-the-job trade training.
Ray Brown of Oliver Springs qualified as an independent by petition, filed January 14, 2026. No campaign website was found; a candidate tracker reports he is an electrician who says he wants to stand up against corruption in the legislative and judicial systems.
Jerri Green
Memphis City Council member (District 2) and interim Shelby County Chief Public DefenderJerri Green is a Memphis attorney who has served on the Memphis City Council since 2024 and became interim Shelby County chief public defender in January 2026. She won the August 2026 Democratic primary with 69.0% of the vote, the first woman to be the Democratic nominee for Tennessee governor. Her campaign focuses on household costs, public schools, Medicaid expansion, abortion rights and gun laws.
David Hatley
Owner, LPI, Inc. (hot tub and swim spa manufacturer)David Hatley is an East Tennessee businessman who owns LPI, Inc., a Johnson City-area maker of hot tubs and swim spas, and is running as a self-funded independent in his first political campaign. His campaign says he has built nine companies. His platform includes ending the grocery tax, pausing new data center approvals and holding the school voucher program at its current size.
Wendell Jackson of Clarksville qualified as an independent by petition, filed February 4, 2026. He describes his campaign as nonpartisan and self-funded, focused on health care, housing stability and job creation.
Charles Van Morgan of Knoxville qualified as an independent by petition, filed March 4, 2026. A candidate tracker citing Ballotpedia reports that he owns a logistics and transportation business and has worked as a police officer and state trooper. No campaign website or platform was found.
Eddie Lee Murphy of Spring Hill qualified for the governor's ballot as an independent by petition, filed February 17, 2026. No campaign website or published platform was found.
Lauren Pinkston is a former Lipscomb University professor who has worked with the Freedom Business Alliance, which seeks to end human trafficking through economic empowerment, and is running as an independent in her first campaign. She describes herself as a seventh-generation Tennessean. Her platform includes dropping the grocery tax, capping property taxes, opposing school vouchers and adding 50,000 child care slots.
Victor "Capt. Vic" Scoggin of Pegram is a Navy veteran, retired volunteer firefighter and retired Ford/UAW journeyman who founded the river advocacy group Save the Cumberland. He qualified as an independent by petition. His platform includes property tax relief, term limits, opposition to cash bail and opposition to new data centers.
Dave Seeman
Engineer and small business ownerDave Seeman is a Nashville engineer and small business owner running as an independent. He calls climate action his top priority and says he wants to put partisanship behind the state. His platform also includes ending the grocery tax, a 24-month moratorium on new data centers and ranked-choice voting.
Karl Knox Smithson of McMinnville qualified for the governor's ballot as an independent by petition, filed February 19, 2026. No campaign website or published platform was found.
L. Webb Taylor of Memphis qualified for the governor's ballot as an independent by petition, filed March 10, 2026. No campaign website or published platform was found.
Robert C. Vick is a Jefferson County native and career educator who reports 40 years in East Tennessee public schools. He runs as a Christian independent and says he would not push his faith on the public. His campaign emphasizes support for teachers, community-based mental health systems and careful management of the state budget.
Compare on the issues
Summaries of each candidate's stated positions. See each profile for sources and details.
| Issue | Misam Abidi Independent | Marsha Blackburn Republican | Dean Brewer Independent | Ray Brown Independent | Jerri Green Democratic | David Hatley Independent | Wendell Jackson Independent | Charles Van Morgan Independent | Eddie Lee Murphy Independent | Lauren Pinkston Independent | Victor L. Scoggin Independent | Dave Seeman Independent | Karl Knox Smithson Independent | L. Webb Taylor Independent | Robert C. Vick Independent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Education | Proposes a Tennessee Skills Guarantee so students graduate with skills such as financial literacy, trades, technology and apprenticeships. | Supports school choice and says every child, regardless of family income or zip code, should have access to an education that fits their needs. | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | Would end the state's school voucher program and fully fund public schools, raise teacher pay and expand universal pre-K. | Would hold the school voucher program at its current size and publish data on it rather than expand it. | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | Opposes school vouchers and proposes less standardized testing, limits on screen time and 50,000 new child care slots. | No public position found yet | Proposes smaller class sizes and covering child care for households earning under $99,000. | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | Says he would direct resources to support teachers and improve student outcomes. |
| Health Care | Lists health care affordability and addiction recovery reform among his platform pillars. | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | Supports expanding Medicaid, keeping rural hospitals open and legalizing marijuana for medical and recreational use. | Would make a state-regulated medical cannabis program a priority of his 2027 legislative agenda. | Supports a system that covers both mental and physical health care for everyone, with details still to come. | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | Says she would address areas with limited access to care and reduce costs added by middlemen. | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | Supports community-based mental health systems that respond to crises and support student development. |
| Taxes | No public position found yet | Cites her role leading opposition to a state income tax as a state senator and says she will keep taxes low. | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | Would repeal the state sales tax on groceries. | Would eliminate the state sales tax on groceries and pause the state gas tax while developing a long-term road funding plan. | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | Calls for dropping the grocery tax and capping property taxes. | Supports property tax reform, no property tax after retirement and no tax breaks for special interests. | Would end the grocery tax and proposes a cannabis tax and new taxes on the wealthiest residents to fund education and care. | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet |
| Energy & Environment | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | Calls for a statewide moratorium on new data centers while lawmakers set rules for them, citing protection of air and water; as a council member she sponsored a data center moratorium ordinance in Memphis. | Proposes a moratorium on new data center approvals until state rules exist and an end to related tax abatements. | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | Would pause new data center approvals until the state sets rules. | Opposes data centers and a proposed Duck River dam near Columbia. | Calls climate action his number one priority, including state-owned renewable power and resilient infrastructure, and proposes a 24-month moratorium on new data centers. | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet |
| Elections & Democracy | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | Says he intends to stand up against corruption within the legislative and judicial systems. | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | Supports open primaries and ending gerrymandering. | Supports term limits and campaign spending limits and opposes mail-in ballots except for overseas military voters. | Supports fair districts, open primaries and ranked-choice voting, plus audits of state programs over $25 million. | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet |
| Economy & Jobs | Proposes a Tennessee Dividend Fund to build citizen wealth and policies to encourage cryptocurrency and other emerging-technology businesses. | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | Proposes workforce training and incentives for employers that hire and train local workers. | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | Supports a livable minimum wage and 12 weeks of family leave. | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet |
| Abortion | No public position found yet | Her campaign describes her as "100 percent pro-life" and says she has backed legislation to end federal funding for abortion. | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | Supports repealing Tennessee's abortion ban and protecting access to IVF and contraception. | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet |
| Government Spending | No public position found yet | Says even the most conservative state governments, including Tennessee's, should be evaluated to reduce fraud and cut waste, and has said she wants a state-level version of the federal DOGE cost-cutting effort. | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | Says the state budget should be managed responsibly within the state's means. |
| Guns | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | Supports universal background checks, red flag laws and free gun locks, and would reinstate training requirements for concealed carry permits. | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | Supports constitutional carry. | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet |
| Housing | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | Proposes infrastructure grants that require 5% to 10% of new developments to be homes priced at $250,000 or less. | Says secure housing for all will be a priority. | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet |
| Immigration | No public position found yet | Says the state should work with federal authorities on mass deportations, keep sanctuary cities out of Tennessee and penalize officials who refuse to follow federal law. | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | Would end cooperation between the Tennessee Highway Patrol and federal immigration agents and end the National Guard deployment in Memphis. | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet |
| Public Safety | No public position found yet | Says she would work to remove some district attorneys, opposes efforts to "defund the police" and would partner with Shelby County officials on crime. | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | Supports funding law enforcement and speedy trials for violent crimes, opposes cash bail and would restore gun and voting rights to nonviolent felons. | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet |
| Veterans | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | Has described a program to house homeless veterans and provide counseling and on-the-job trade training. | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet |
| Women's Sports | No public position found yet | Says she would ensure girls' sports are protected in Tennessee and that male athletes should not compete against girls or use girls' locker rooms. | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | No public position found yet |