A straw poll conducted over the weekend at the 52nd Annual Germantown Festival shows U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) to be the overwhelmingly favorite Republican candidate running in the 2026 Tennessee gubernatorial election.
Out of 226 participants, Blackburn garnered a whopping 205 votes (91 percent) while U.S. Representative John Rose (R-TN-06) earned 13 votes (6 percent) and State Representative Monty Fritts (R-Kingston) – who entered the gubernatorial election last week – earned 8 votes (4 percent).
Tennesseans from every corner of our state are sending a clear message: they want principled, conservative leadership. That’s exactly what I’ll deliver as your next governor. https://t.co/bAkAWk6x8V
— Marsha Blackburn (@VoteMarsha) September 8, 2025
“Tennesseans from every corner of our state are sending a clear message: they want principled, conservative leadership. That’s exactly what I’ll deliver as your next governor,” Blackburn wrote in an X post, sharing the results of the straw poll.
Newsmax and local radio host Todd Starnes, a Memphis native, also shared the straw poll results and noted that Blackburn’s team was the only gubernatorial campaign represented at the Germantown Festival.
“Only one candidate’s team bothered to show up. Thank you, [Marsha Blackburn],” Starnes said.
Noting how the top issue among Shelby County voters is crime, the Shelby County Republican Party said, “With the race just getting started, we expect to see all candidates in Shelby County very soon.”
Tennessee State Senator Brent Taylor (R-Memphis) said he believes Blackburn’s overwhelming support in Shelby County as seen in the straw poll is due to the senator’s “determination” to provide Shelby County with federal resources to help tackle crime.
“Getting a handle on our crime challenge is the TOP priority for Republicans in Shelby County, and Senator Blackburn’s determination to get federal resources here to help us is not going unnoticed,” Taylor said.
“We need a tough conservative who is already doing the work in the US Senate to help us #MakeMemphisMatter! A Governor Marsha Blackburn will be an important partner who will continue her efforts to tackle the crime challenge in our great city,” he added.
Blackburn’s victory in the Germantown Festival straw poll comes days after she received the endorsement of the powerful Club for Growth PAC, which is affiliated with Club for Growth Action, the nation’s largest conservative Super PAC.
This straw poll comes one month after the Beacon Center of Tennessee released a poll showing Blackburn beating Rose by over 50 points.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “Marsha Blackburn” by Marsha Blackburn.
Make her Governor and we will get more of the same. She is NOT what we need running this state. I will never vote for her or John Rose. My vote goes to Monty Fritts. These polls are meant to play mind games with voters. They know most uninformed (and there are many) will vote for who the media tells them is the supposed winner. That is what polls are really all about. Monty Fritts is the only REAL constitutional candidate. He will buck the system and they are scared to death that he just might pick up real support.