NASHVILLE, Tenn.—Tennessee Senator Marsha Blackburn continues to refuse to debate her opponent, State Representative Gloria Johnson.
“Marsha Blackburn refuses to debate because she cannot explain her extreme record of opposing measures to lower the cost of insulin and refusing to hold her Big Pharma donors accountable for price gouging all while voting to raise her own taxpayer funded salary,” said Cyrus Shick, campaign manager for Gloria Johnson’s U.S. Senate campaign. “Marsha Blackburn answers to corporations and special interest groups, not to hardworking Tennessee voters.”
On Sept. 10, Americans witnessed how presidential candidates Donald Trump and Kamala Harris answered or did not answer questions, presented policy proposals and reacted to criticism from each other.
The people of Tennessee deserve the same from their direct representatives to the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. Unfortunately, that does not appear to be in the cards.
Republican U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn was first elected in 2018 to the Senate. She participated in a few debates against former Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen that year.
Her office’s press releases say she has visited the state’s 95 counties and addressed questions in public gatherings, but she will not face her Democratic opponent state Rep. Gloria Johnson, one of the famed “Tennessee Three” who protested for firearms law reform on the state House floor after The Covenant School shooting in 2023. Johnson was spared from expulsion from the House by one vote.
Our network – which spans all three Grand Divisions and includes newsrooms in Nashville, Knoxville, and Memphis – approached Blackburn’s campaign in 2023 to invite her to participate in a debate, town hall or forum.
Despite a few promising initial exchanges, a few months ago, her campaign stopped answering texts and emails requesting a “yes” or “no.”
State Representative Gloria Johnson has dedicated her life to serving Tennesseans, fighting for justice and standing tall for all who have been left out, left behind or left without a voice. A special education teacher of 27 years, Johnson was fed up with elected officials attacking the rights of public-school students and teachers. As a member of the “Tennessee Three,” she demanded Republican politicians in Nashville pass gun safety measures to prevent future shootings. Johnson’s is running for U.S. Senate with a focus on lowering costs for Tennessee families, expanding access to affordable healthcare, protecting reproductive freedom, passing common sense gun safety laws, and increasing funding for our public schools.
