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Senator Blackburn Dominates Bartlett Festival Straw Poll for Tennessee Governor

by | Oct 6, 2025

A straw poll conducted over the weekend at the 2025 Bartlett Festival, BBQ Contest and Car Show shows U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) to be the overwhelmingly favorite Republican candidate running in the 2026 Tennessee gubernatorial election.

Out of 250 participants, Blackburn garnered 199 votes (80 percent) while U.S. Representative John Rose (R-TN-06) earned 36 votes (14 percent) and State Representative Monty Fritts (R-Kingston) earned 15 votes (6 percent).

“Our message is spreading. Our vision is resonating. Tennessee Republicans are ready for tough, conservative leadership. They’re ready to make our state America’s conservative leader,” Blackburn wrote in an X post, sharing the results of the straw poll.

Tennessee State Senator Brent Taylor (R-Memphis), who attended the festival over the weekend, cast his vote in the straw poll for Blackburn.

“I’m here to cast my vote in the straw poll for who I think will be the governor of the state of Tennessee…Marsha Blackburn,” Taylor said in a video posted to social media.

Taylor praised Blackburn for working to secure federal resources for Memphis with regard to the city’s crime surge, saying as governor, he is confident she would continue efforts to ensure Memphis is safe.

“She has made sure the federal government and all of the resources, all of the alphabet soup agencies are coming to Memphis. We have 700 federal law enforcement officers on the ground in Memphis, working to make Memphis matter by making Memphis safe. We’re going to make Memphis a miracle by turning our crime around, and the person to do that, as the governor, is Marsha Blackburn,” Taylor said.

The Bartlett Festival’s straw poll is the second poll conducted in Shelby County showing Blackburn to be the favorite Republican candidate running for governor.

At last month’s 52nd Annual Germantown Festival, a straw poll of Republican voters showed Blackburn as the overwhelming favorite for governor, receiving 205 out of the 226 votes cast.

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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 and “Straw Poll Results” by Shelby County GOP.

 

 

   
This article may be republished only in its entirety and only with proper attribution to State News Foundation.

Written By Kaitlin Housler

Journalist
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