With Tennessee Senator Marsha Blackburn officially announcing her campaign for governor, the Beacon Center released a new recently conducted poll that shows her leading her Republican primary opponent, Congressman John Rose by a significant margin. Six hundred twenty-three registered voters were asked who they would prefer in the Republican primary for governor, Sen. Marsha Blackburn or Rep. John Rose. 

Responses to the poll gave Blackburn a 52% margin over Rose, 66% to 14%. The Beacon Center poll also gave the eventual Republican nominee a 19% lead over a generic Democrat in Tennessee.

The Beacon Center’s Senior Fellow for Public Opinion, Mark Cunningham, acknowledged that Blackburn’s margin was largely due to “Her nearly universal name  recognition in the state” and that Rose has plenty of time to close the gap, as he starts to run ads statewide and introduce himself to the voters.” 

With Rose having already raised over $6.1 million, he will certainly have the funds necessary to increase his name identification over the next year before the Republican primary in August 2026.  The Rose campaign has previously pointed out that the name recognition advantage Blackburn currently enjoys will diminish as voters learn more about John Rose, his background, credentials, and motivations for seeking the governor’s office. 

A spokesman for the Rose campaign pointed out that: “This poll is driven by name ID, which will ultimately be changed by financial resources. The campaign trail is littered with early front-runners. Just ask Jeb Bush.”

The Beacon Center plans to release more details from their poll early next week, including questions about tariffs, the Tennessee education voucher program, and other issues.

Steve Gill is the  Publisher of TriStar Daily.