Tennessee U.S. Senator Blackburn is seeking re-election against Democratic Representative Gloria Johnson

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee voters will decide whether to re-elect a Republican. US Senator Marsha Blackburn for a second term or choose a democratic state Representative Gloria Johnson.

Tennessee hasn’t elected a Democrat to statewide office in nearly two decades, but Johnson hopes her recent meteoric rise to fame was nearly expelled by state legislators attracted a sufficient number of voters last year.

Blackburn ran a much more subdued campaign compared to six years earlier, when the open seat sparked a bitter battle between the Republican and former Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen. Blackburn largely avoided Johnson throughout the campaign and refused to engage in any debates with the Democrat.

Johnson drew national attention when she joined fellow Democratic state Reps. Justin Pearson and Justin Jones as they marched to the front of the House with a bullhorn as hundreds of gun control advocates flooded the Capitol to show their support for enactment. additional restrictions on firearms. The demonstration took place just days after the school shooting. killed 6 peopleincluding three young children, at a private Christian elementary school in Nashville.

The violation of House protocols sparked outrage among Republican lawmakers, who demanded their expulsion, a punishment that has been imposed only a few times since Reconstruction.

The clash between Democratic legislators and the Republican supermajority drew national attention, increasing the profile of the group, dubbed the Tennessee Three, across the United States.

Johnson, 62, has been critical of Blackburn’s policy positions, arguing that most Tennesseans want “common sense gun laws” and better access to reproductive care. During the election campaign, Johnson also shared her own story about needing an abortion to save her life in light of Tennessee’s blanket ban on abortion, which includes only a few narrow exceptions. Johnson emphasized that she likely would not have been able to make the same choice under the current state ban.

Blackburn, 72, has opposed gun control measures throughout her political career and has dodged questions about whether she supports a national abortion ban, saying she supports the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the constitutional right to abortion and that that question should be left to voters. Before Roe v. Wade was overturned, she voted repeatedly for legislation banning abortions after 20 weeks.

Blackburn’s victory in 2018 marked the first time a woman was elected as a U.S. senator in Tennessee.