It was standing-room only in the ballroom of a Brentwood hotel as hundreds of people packed in to see Democratic Memphis City Council member Jerri Green take the stage opposite an empty podium.
A giant sign that read “MIA Marsha” hung over the lectern.
The night’s moderator, Justin Kanew of the Tennessee Holler, hyped up the crowd as they chanted: “Where’s Marsha?”
Marianna Bacallao WPLN NewsThe crowd at Green’s empty podium debate maxes out the 182-person occupancy limit at the Sheraton Hotel in Brentwood on Sept. 30, 2026.
U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, the frontrunner to replace the outgoing Gov. Bill Lee, has refused to debate other candidates in the race for governor. As the Nov. 3 election approaches, Blackburn’s opponents are issuing new challenges to bring her to the debate stage.
The $1M challenge
Conservative independent David Hatley has offered to donate $1 million to charity if Blackburn agrees to a debate. He told WPLN News that the money would go to a series of charities that work directly with domestic violence victims, hungry families and people without homes.
“Personally, if someone asked me to do something for charity, I would run through a wall to do it,” Hatley said. “It seems like she’s just trying to slide into the governor’s seat without answering any questions … What is her real plan for Tennessee?”
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In an email to WPLN News, Blackburn’s campaign manager, Abigail Sigler, said, “Tennesseans don’t want gimmicks; they want people who will go work for them.”
The Democratic strategy
Blackburn has not debated a Democratic challenger since her 2018 U.S. Senate race. She told WSMV last month that she would be continuing that trend.
Democrat Jerri Green appears alongside an empty podium to stand in for Marsha Blackburn, her GOP opponent for the governor’s race.
“I am not going to give air to a socialist candidate who is running to destroy the agenda of Tennessee, destroy the United States, and defund the police,” Blackburn said.
Green is not a socialist candidate, but a few days after that statement, Blackburn appeared alongside Democratic Socialist Bernie Sanders for a “pro-human” AI talk in Washington.
Green has said she would not defund the police even if they refuse to sign a formal agreement with immigration officials. Under a new state law, sheriff’s departments will lose funding if they don’t sign one before the end of the year.
Reaching voters
Green began her series of empty podium debates in Blackburn’s home city of Brentwood, just south of Nashville.
“This is a job interview. I’m just the only one showing up for it,” Green told the crowd.
Marianna Bacallao WPLN NewsDemocrat Jerri Green addresses the crowd at her first empty podium debate in Brentwood on Sept. 30, 2026.
Blackburn has said that in lieu of debates, she is having conversations with Tennesseans “every day.” Since winning her GOP primary, Blackburn has had few campaign rallies, but she still attends local GOP events. On Sunday, Oct. 4, Blackburn delivered the keynote speech at a GOP “Get Out the Vote” rally in Chattanooga.
“President Donald Trump is sending power, authority, money, responsibility back to the states every single day, and as conservatives, that is what we have wanted for decades,” Blackburn said. “This is a great time to be governor for Tennessee.”
Before her speech, Blackburn mingled through the crowd, talking one-on-one with voters.
Marianna Bacallao WPLN NewsMarsha Blackburn talks with voters at the Hamilton County GOP’s “Get Out the Vote Rally” on Oct. 4, 2026
Along with names and contact info, the RSVP form for Sunday’s event asked for guests to choose either “Yes, I align with Republican values” or “No, I do not align with Republican values,” specifying that the event was “for Republicans only.”
Across the aisle
As a Democrat running for governor in a red state, Green has had to make conservative media part of her campaign trail. Last month, she appeared as a guest on the conservative talk radio show Supertalk 99.7 with Chris Hand, a former media director for Turning Point USA.
“I respect that you’re here. I really do. A lot of people in the Democrat world would not walk into a room like this,” Hand said. “Listeners of this radio station are going to decide the governor’s race … How do you convince (them) to vote for you when we are so far apart on abortion, immigration, trans kids and the Memphis Safe Task Force?”
Green responded by saying that they’re closer on the issues than they might think, using abortion as an example.
“You and I probably both want healthy moms and healthy babies,” she said.
Green noted that with Republicans controlling the statehouse, she would not have the power to change Tennessee’s abortion ban.
“What I can do is help make sure that we have more access to healthcare, because women are dying here in childbirth at a higher rate than anywhere else in the country,” she said. “And most of that can be fixed through prenatal care.”
Green hosted another empty podium debate in Nashville on Saturday. She’ll host two more in the series on Oct. 9 in Memphis and on Oct. 16 in Knoxville.
The deadline to register to vote in the November election is Monday, Oct. 5.
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