The Secretary of State qualified candidates for the August primary ballot this week.

McNally was first elected to the Tennessee General Assembly in 1978 as a state representative

That poll found Blackburn leading with support from more than 60 percent of respondents.

In an exclusive interview, Blackburn expressed support for removing tuition requirements for out-of-district students and charter school funding.

Blackburn reported $5.3 million in contributions while Green reported $125,000.

57 percent of the 463 Republican voters who responded to the January poll said they’d vote for Blackburn in the August primary, compared to 8 percent for State Representative Monty Fritts, R-Kingston, and 7 percent for Congressman John Rose.

On Wednesday, Blackburn shared a video clip on social media of the President praising her at the Trump Accounts summit that day, and indicating he believes she’ll win the race to succeed Governor Bill Lee.

The final 9-9 vote came along party lines, with Republicans on the Montgomery County Commission supporting Lankford and Democrats supporting their party’s nominee for the House District 75 seat last year, Allie Phillips.

Montgomery County Commissioners voted 11 to 8 to appoint a Republican nominee to the board in a move that at least one commissioner felt was influenced by political parties.

Blackburn held the support of 60 percent of the 484 Republican voters surveyed online in the poll, well ahead of Congressman John Rose’s 10 percent and State Representative Monte Fritts’ five percent.

Speaking at a town hall event in Jonesborough, Tennessee last week, Green said her priorities would be to expand Medicaid, repeal Tennessee’s grocery tax, and end the Tennessee Education Freedom Scholarship Act that allows families to use taxpayer dollars to send their children to private school.

Blackburn said she’s the leader the state needs to take advantage of Trump’s work to shrink the federal government and provide more power to the states.

Tennessee gubernatorial candidate and state lawmaker Monty Fritts was the only legislator to oppose continuing the Tennessee Department of Education during this week’s sunset hearings at the State Capitol.

Rose’s new 30-second ad begins with the 6th District Congressman walking through farmland, touting his agricultural experience.

The U.S. Senator utilized her appearance at Nashville Collegiate Prep’s high school grand opening to promote her support for removing barriers that organizations face when starting new public charter schools.

Both leading Republican candidates in the 2026 governor’s race are applauding President Trump’s decision that also appears to have given one Democratic candidate a larger spotlight.

In a video posted on his campaign website, Fritts attempted to distance himself from fellow Republican gubernatorial candidates Congressman John Rose and Senator Marsha Blackburn by pledging to oppose what he calls the “Nashville establishment.” 

In an interview with the Tennessee Firefly’s On the Fly podcast, Rose said he’d be open to tweaks to assessments and evaluations, but believes the state should “keep on keeping on” with both systems that polling has shown Republican voters support.

Blackburn told supporters she plans to do four things “extremely well” if elected governor - keep taxes low, simplify licensing requirements, ensure government regulation is light, and provide businesses with a well-trained workforce.

The program, frequently referred to as vouchers, is providing 20 thousand children with tax dollars to pay for private school expenses, and Blackburn says it will be a key part of her education policy if she’s elected governor next year.