According to multiple reports, State Representative Gloria Johnson (D-Knoxville) will challenge Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) for her seat during the 2024 election cycle.

“I’m taking a serious look at the race and having conversations with folks that are hungry for better leadership in Washington,” Johnson told Politico. “Honestly, Tennesseans deserve someone who will stand up to corrupt special interests, fight for lower costs so that every family can build a good life and that’s not Marsha Blackburn.”

“There’s a movement afoot in Tennessee, it’s very clear,” she said. “There has been a change in thinking.”

It was first reported that Johnson (pictured above) was considering running against Blackburn in early June.

In an interview with The Tennesseean, she labeled Blackburn a “bully” and said she has a “reputation for standing up to bullies.”

Blackburn’s office responded to Johnson’s announcement.

“Senator Blackburn looks forward to making her case of why Tennesseans should re-elect her as their Senator. She has a record of serving Tennessee families and championing conservative values,” Abigail Sigler, a Blackburn campaign spokesman, told The Tennessee Star. “Marquita Bradshaw and Gloria Johnson are liberal Democrats who are out of step with the people of Tennessee and are aligned with Joe Biden’s failed policies that are making their lives tougher every single day.”

Her announcement was met with fanfare from online activist Democrats.

“Amazing news: remember Gloria Johnson, who stood with Justin Pearson & Justin Jones, the only two Gen Z-ers in the Tennessee state legislature, when they got expelled? Well, she’s planning on running for US Senate against Marsha Blackburn in 2024. Republicans should be scared,” said Victor Shi, a delegate for President Joe Biden during the 2020 election cycle.

“Hell yes! Tennessee Rep. Gloria Johnson of the heroic Tennessee 3 with amazing Reps. Justin Jones and Justin Pearson is planning to run for US Senate against white supremacist scumbag Marsha Blackburn,” said self-described “singer-songwriter” and “political junkie” Ricky Davila, an online personality known for outlandish statements.

Johnson does not appear to have a campaign website at the time of publication.

The state representative is perhaps best known as a “Tennessee Three” member, a group of legislators who led a protest-turned-riot at the Tennessee Capitol in Nashville earlier this year.

The rioters assembled to push for gun control after the mass shooting at The Covenant School that claimed three lives.

While the General Assembly expelled two of her State House colleagues from office, Johnson narrowly avoided that fate.

Democrat Marquita Bradshaw, an environmentalist, announced days before Johnson that she will also run for Blackburn’s seat.

“I have spent my life as an activist, rolling up my sleeves and fighting tirelessly for criminal justice reform, equitable access to healthcare, a clean and safe environment, and a public education system that serves all children. These are the battles I want to keep fighting on behalf of all Tennesseans as your next U.S. Senator,” says her campaign website.

Bradshaw ran for U.S. Senate in 2020 against Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN), defeating four other primary candidates but losing in the general election. She garnered only 35.5 percent of the vote in the Volunteer State.

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Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on Twitter.
Photo “Gloria Johnson” by Gloria Johnson. 

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