Senator Marsha Blackburn Leads Congressman John Rose in First Poll of 2026 Governor’s Race

Congressman John Rose (left) and Senator Marsha Blackburn (right) (Photos by John Rose and Marsha Blackburn)

A new statewide poll by the Beacon Center found U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn with a 52-point lead over Congressman John Rose in the 2026 governor’s race.

Blackburn announced her candidacy in a video yesterday while Rose has been campaigning since March.

The Beacon Center polled 1200 registered voters, including 623 Republican primary voters, before Blackburn’s announcement. The organization says 66 percent of respondents said they support Blackburn compared to the 14 percent who chose Rose. 19 percent of voters were undecided.

“The results show Blackburn enters as a clear frontrunner,” wrote the Beacon Center. “Despite her massive lead, it’s important to remember that it’s very early in the process and there is plenty of time for Representative Rose to close the gap, especially as he starts to run ads statewide and introduce himself to voters. While it’s clear Senator Blackburn starts as a strong favorite to succeed Governor Bill Lee, upsets happen all the time in politics.”

(Graphic by the Beacon Center)

On the issue of education, both Blackburn and Rose support President Trump’s plan to dissolve the U.S. Department of Education and his goals of providing parents with more choice in what school their children can attend, including tax credits benefitting public charter schools and private school choice.

Rose has additionally promised to appoint an education commissioner with Tennessee teaching experience.

Early Deficit for Democratic Primary Winner

The Beacon poll additionally found whoever comes out as the Republican nominee would have a comfortable lead in the general election over their Democratic party opponent. Both Blackburn and Rose led a generic Democratic candidate in the poll by 19 points.

Tennessee Democrats did not field a high-profile, well-funded candidate for governor in 2022, and so far, that has been the case for 2026 as well. Memphis City Council Member Jerri Green is likely the highest-profile Democrat to announce a bid for the 2026 governor’s race. She has yet to announce campaign contribution totals and does not have statewide name recognition.

The leading Democratic gubernatorial candidate on last month’s campaign filing reported raising a little more than $4 thousand.