TENNESSEE — A record number of women are running for governor in the November 2026 election, including multiple candidates in Tennessee. Tennessee has not previously elected a woman as governor. U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn is seeking the Republican nomination for governor in Tennessee.

Other candidates in the Tennessee Republican primary for governor include U.S. Representative John Rose. The primary election for Tennessee is scheduled for August 6, followed by the general election on November 3. Kent Syler, a professor of political science and public policy at Middle Tennessee State University, stated, "There's probably more than a 50% chance that Tennessee is going to have a general election for governor this year where both party nominees are women." He added, "That would certainly be a first."

Nationally, 43 Democratic women have filed to run for governor in the 2026 election cycle, and 29 Republican women have filed. Six incumbent female governors will not return to office in the 2026 election cycle. Five of these governors are not returning due to term limits, and one is not returning due to retirement. To maintain the current number of 14 female governors, at least six new women must be elected in the 2026 cycle.

Other states like Georgia, Ohio, Minnesota, and Wisconsin have also never elected a woman governor and are fielding female gubernatorial candidates in the 2026 election. Kelly Dittmar, director of research at the Center for American Women in Politics at Rutgers University, said, "Women are over 50% of the population and they’re less than a third of governors in the country." She added, "Over all of our history, we’ve had 53 women governors in 33 states, and so it speaks to 17 states that have not yet elected a woman governor."