Buckle up, Tennessee, because this political soap opera just got a brand new season.
Memphis environmental advocate Marquita Bradshaw just grabbed the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate on Thursday, setting up an absolute blockbuster rematch against Republican Sen. Bill Hagerty, Conservative Brief reported. And when we say rematch, we mean it. Hagerty absolutely walloped Bradshaw back in 2020 by roughly 27 points. So naturally, she's coming back for more.
Bradshaw cruised past four Democratic challengers, pulling in over 50 percent of the vote to knock out Maria Brewer, Kevin Lee McCants, Civil Miller-Watkins, and Diana Onyejiaka. Meanwhile, Hagerty didn't even break a sweat. Nobody bothered running against him in the Republican primary, so he just waltzed right into November.
Now here's where things get absolutely wild. Let's talk money. As of July 17, Bradshaw had raised a grand total of $2,257.07. That is not a typo. She had roughly a thousand bucks sitting in the bank. Hagerty? The man is sitting on more than $5 million. That financial gap is less of a gap and more of a canyon the size of the Grand Canyon.
Oh, and there's more. After losing to Hagerty in 2020, Bradshaw never formally conceded. She later called concession speeches "an antiquated tradition." Bold move! She also tried for the Democratic Senate nod in 2024 but got beaten in the primary by state Rep. Gloria Johnson, who then lost to Sen. Marsha Blackburn in the general.
Speaking of Blackburn, she's got her own headline. The Associated Press projected Thursday evening that she clinched the Republican gubernatorial primary, defeating U.S. Rep. John Rose and state Rep. Monty Fritts. The call came around 8:31 p.m. CDT. Blackburn built her campaign around economic growth, border security, backing law enforcement, opposing illegal immigration, protecting women's sports, and championing President Donald Trump's agenda. She'll square off against Democrat Jerri Green, a Memphis City Council member who won her own primary that same night.
This governor's contest is the first open race for that office since 2018, because Gov. Bill Lee can't run again due to term limits.
Here's a fun wrinkle. If Hagerty wins reelection in November, he'd automatically become Tennessee's senior U.S. senator since Blackburn is vacating her Senate seat to pursue the governor's mansion.
Republicans obviously enter both of these contests as heavy favorites in a state that has voted red consistently in recent cycles. But Democrats are gearing up to play spoiler, hoping to pull off the kind of upsets that would send shockwaves through Southern politics.
With the primaries officially in the rearview mirror, the general election sprint is on. Tennessee's political scene just got a whole lot more interesting, even if the odds remain stacked in one direction.
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