Mary Marsha Blackburn (née Wedgeworth; born June 6, 1952) is an American politician and businesswoman serving as the senior United States senator from Tennessee. Blackburn was first elected to the Senate in 2018. A member of the Republican Party, Blackburn was a state senator from 1999 to 2003 and represented in the United States House of Representatives from 2003 to 2019, during which time the National Journal rated her among the House's most conservative members.
A supporter of the Tea Party movement, Blackburn is a staunch ally of President Donald Trump. She opposes abortion, same-sex marriage, cannabis (medical and recreational), and the Affordable Care Act. On November 6, 2018, Blackburn became the first woman to be elected to the U.S. Senate from Tennessee, defeating Democratic former Tennessee governor Phil Bredesen. Blackburn became the state's senior senator in January 2021 upon the retirement of Senator Lamar Alexander. Upon the retirement of Congressman Jim Cooper in 2023, she became the dean of Tennessee's congressional delegation. She won reelection to a second Senate term in 2024 against Democratic nominee Gloria Johnson.
Blackburn is the Republican nominee in the 2026 Tennessee gubernatorial election and faces Memphis city councilor Jerri Green.
Early life and education
Marsha Wedgeworth was born in Laurel, Mississippi, to Mary Jo (Morgan) and Hilman Wedgeworth, who worked in sales and management. She placed fourth during a beauty pageant in high school.
Blackburn attended Mississippi State University on a 4-H scholarship, earning a Bachelor of Science in home economics in 1974.1974 Reveille Yearbook, Mississippi State University, p. 403The Marsha Blackburn Collection web page , Mississippi State University Congressional and Political Research Center; retrieved December 5, 2013. Blackburn was elected both as secretary and president of the Associated Women Students at Mississippi State University.1972 Reveille Yearbook, Mississippi State University, p. 216, p. 275
Early career and political activity In 1973, before graduating from college, Blackburn worked as a sales manager for the Times Mirror Company. From 1975 to 1978, she worked in the Castner Knott Division of Mercantile Stores, Inc. In 1978, she became the owner of Marketing Strategies, a promotion-event management firm. As of 2016, Blackburn continued to run this business.
Blackburn was a founding member of the Williamson County Young Republicans.Baker, Jackson, Marsha Blackburn – Beacon of the Right , Memphis Magazine, July 2011; retrieved December 6, 2013. She was chair of the Williamson County Republican Party from 1989 to 1991. In 1992, she ran for Congress in Tennessee's 6th congressional district, losing to incumbent Bart Gordon, and was a delegate to the 1992 Republican National Convention. In 1995, Blackburn was appointed executive director of the Tennessee Film, Entertainment, and Music Commission by Tennessee governor Don Sundquist, holding that post through 1997.
Blackburn was a member of the Tennessee Senate from 1999 to 2003, and rose to be minority whip. In 2000, she took part in the effort to prevent the passage of a state income tax bill.
U.S. House of Representatives
Redistricting after the 2000 census moved Blackburn's home from the 6th district to the 7th district, and created a gerrymandered district that stretched for 200 miles from eastern Memphis to southwest Nashville. In 2002, Blackburn ran in the Republican primary for this congressional seat. Of the four main candidates, she was the only one from the Nashville suburbs. The other three (Mark Norris, David Kustoff, and Brent Taylor) were all from Memphis or its suburbs. on 2002-08-01, D.C.'s Political Report Blackburn was endorsed by the conservative political advocacy group Club for Growth.Bianca Phillips, Final Report on Tennessee Elections , Memphis Flyer, August 1, 2002; retrieved March 7, 2016. The three Memphians split the vote in that area, and Blackburn won the primary by nearly 20 percentage points., D.C.'s Political Report; retrieved March 7, 2016.
In the general election, Blackburn defeated Democratic nominee Tim Barron with 70% of the vote. She was the fourth woman elected to Congress from Tennessee, and the first woman elected to Congress from Tennessee who did not succeed her husband."Marsha Blackburn Named 2016 'Woman of the Year'" , Williamson Herald, March 4, 2016. She was reelected seven times.
Tenure
Blackburn served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2003 to 2019. During her House tenure, the National Journal rated her among the House's most conservative members.
In November 2007, Blackburn unsuccessfully ran for Republican conference chair. She was a senior advisor on Mitt Romney's 2008 presidential campaign, before resigning her position in the Romney campaign and endorsing Fred Thompson for president. Blackburn was an assistant whip in Congress from 2003 to 2005, as well as deputy whip from 2005.
Committee assignments
Committee on the Budget Committee on Education and the Workforce Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade, vice-chair Subcommittee on Communications and the Internet, chair Subcommittee on Health Care Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, vice-chair – Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade Committee on Judiciary Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Select Investigative Panel on Planned Parenthood, chair
U.S. Senate 2018 election
In October 2017, Blackburn announced her candidacy for the Senate seat being vacated by Bob Corker. In her announcement, she said House Republicans were frustrated with Senate Republicans, who they believed acted like Democrats on important issues, including Obamacare. In the announcement, Blackburn called herself a "politically incorrect" "hardcore, card-carrying Tennessee conservative" and said with pride that liberals had called her a "wingnut". She dismissed compromise and bipartisanship, saying, "No compromise, no apologies." She also said she carried a gun in her purse. On August 2, Blackburn won the Republican primary with 84.48% of the vote. Blackburn largely backed President Donald Trump's policies, including a U.S.–Mexico border wall, and shared his opinion of National Football League national anthem protests. Trump and Vice President Mike Pence endorsed her. During the campaign, Blackburn pledged to support Trump's agenda and suggested that Democratic nominee Phil Bredesen would not.
For most of the campaign, polls showed the two candidates nearly tied. But after Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court confirmation hearings, Blackburn pulled ahead. Some believe the hearings mobilized Republican voters in the state, even though Democrats won the House. In October 2018, pop star Taylor Swift endorsed the Democratic nominee in an Instagram post, saying she "cannot support Marsha Blackburn". The post was seen as having the potential to boost younger voter turnout, who historically skew Democratic. Blackburn won the election with 54.7% of the vote to Bredesen's 43.9%, an unexpectedly large margin. She carried all but three counties in the state (Davidson, Shelby, and Haywood), the most counties ever won in an open Senate election in Tennessee.
At 66, Blackburn is the oldest elected freshman U.S. senator from Tennessee. She was the oldest person to become a freshman U.S. senator in the 21st century until John Hickenlooper of Colorado surpassed her at age 68 in 2020.
2024 election
On August 1, 2024, Blackburn and Democratic state representative Gloria Johnson won their respective party nominations. This was the first all-woman general election for a Tennessee Senate seat.
Blackburn was reelected with 63.8% of the vote to Johnson's 34.2%. She carried all but two counties in the state (Davidson and Shelby).
There was speculation that Blackburn could be Donald Trump's running mate in his 2024 presidential campaign, but Trump instead chose JD Vance.
Senate tenure
Blackburn was sworn in as a U.S. senator on January 3, 2019. She is the first woman in history to represent Tennessee in the U.S. Senate. Upon Lamar Alexander's retirement in 2021, Blackburn became the senior U.S. senator from Tennessee.
Early in her Senate career, Blackburn emphasized conservative priorities including judicial confirmation, border security, and traditional social values. She supported the confirmation of conservative judicial nominees and voted against the confirmation of Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court in 2022.
Blackburn has also focused on legislation related to online safety and technology policy. She introduced and supported the REPORT Act (Revising Existing Procedures On Reporting via Technology Act), a federal law enacted in 2024 that expanded reporting obligations for online service providers about suspected child sexual abuse and other crimes to help protect children online.
In January 2025, Blackburn celebrated the signing of the Women's Suffrage National Monument Location Act, which ensures the Women's Suffrage National Monument will be placed on the National Mall. She highlighted Tennessee's role in ratifying the 19th Amendment and the monument's significance.
Throughout her Senate career, Blackburn has advocated for conservative positions on fiscal, regulatory, and social issues, including border security, opposition to abortion rights, and support for veterans' programs and national defense initiatives.
Committee assignments Blackburn's Senate committee assignments are below.
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation Subcommittee on Communications, Media and Broadband Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety and Data Protection (chair) Subcommittee on Oceans, Fisheries, Climate Change and Manufacturing Subcommittee on Tourism, Trade, and Export Promotion Committee on Finance Subcommittee on Health Care Subcommittee on Social Security, Pensions, and Family Policy Subcommittee on Taxation and IRS Oversight Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Law (ranking member) Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, and Border Safety Subcommittee on Intellectual Property Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law Committee on Veterans' Affairs
2026 gubernatorial campaign
On August 6, 2025, Blackburn announced that she would run for governor of Tennessee in 2026. On August 6, 2026, she became the first woman to win the Republican nomination for governor of Tennessee. If elected, she will be Tennessee's first female governor and, at age 74, its oldest elected governor.
Political positions
Blackburn is a Tea Party Republican. She has been called staunchly conservative, and has sometimes attended functions of, and met with leaders of, far-right groups. She has called herself "a hard-core, card-carrying Tennessee conservative."
GovTrack estimated Blackburn to be the most ideologically conservative member of the Senate in the 2019 legislative year. In 2024, Blackburn served as chairperson for the Republican National Committee's official party platform.
Abortion and stem cell research Blackburn staunchly opposes abortion and sought to overturn Roe v. Wade. In 2013, she was chosen to manage debate on a bill promoted by House Republicans that would have prohibited abortions after 22 weeks' gestation, with limited exceptions for rape or incest. She replaced the bill's prior sponsor, U.S. Representative Trent Franks, after Franks made controversial and dubious statements.