Incumbent Sen. Marsha Blackburn has beaten out state Rep. Gloria Johnson in a high-profile battle for one of Tennessee’s two U.S. Senate seats. The Associated Press called the race for Blackburn just after polls closed at 7 p.m.
Johnson was catapulted onto the national stage as a member of the so-called Tennessee Three after her Republican colleagues in the statehouse tried to expel her, along with Justin Jones and Justin Pearson. Johnson parlayed that attention into her campaign against Blackburn, who was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2018.
But it wasn’t enough to overcome Trump-endorsed Blackburn’s hold on the red state. Blackburn out-fundraised Johnson by thousands, though Johnson’s campaign told The Nashville Banner that it raised more than most Democrats in recent Tennessee history, and Johnson did beat Blackburn in the number of individual donations.