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    • Senate ads omit Marsha Blackburn and Gloria Johnson’s records
    Duluth

    Senate ads omit Marsha Blackburn and Gloria Johnson’s records

    Eira Gwyneth Posted on

    While Tennessee’s red curve on Nov. 5 could heavily favor U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn over Gloria Johnson, voters will be worse off if the incumbent doesn’t act if there is actually a contested race.

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    State Rep. Gloria Johnson owns a gun.

    U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn successfully fought against a state income tax 23 years ago — but we already knew that from her ad in 2018.

    The Democratic challenger and Republican incumbent’s latest television ads say nothing about what they’ve done for the people of Tennessee lately.

    As they think about their next commercials, they should talk about their own records to give voters a reason why they should choose one over the other.

    Instead, there are seemingly intentional omissions that simply make no sense to a voter who wants to be fully informed.

    “Tennessee Three” and public service are omitted from the Johnson ad

    In her ad, Johnson, D-Knoxville, emphasizes that she is a teacher and “not a politician,” but she was a three-term member of the Tennessee Legislature and is running unopposed for re-election to the state Legislature while also voting for a candidate for federal office.

    Meanwhile, she made a national name for herself when she was nearly expelled from the House of Representatives for protesting gun law reform.

    The ad made no mention of the “Tennessee Three,” which includes her along with state Reps. Justin Jones, D-Nashville, and Justin J. Pearson, D-Memphis — all three who attended the Democratic National Convention in August.

    This is significant because the Covenant School massacre, the Tennessee Three, and lawmakers’ actions or inactions regarding firearms became the electrifying political issue of 2023, ushering in Johnson’s political rise.

    Additionally, her rhetoric about Tennessee as a failed democracy was also missing from the ad, but she at least mentioned her opponent, essentially calling Blackburn corrupt and out of touch for taking millions from lobbyists and spending too much time in Washington, DC

    Senator Blackburn repeats the successes of two jobs before him

    Blackburn’s latest ad is similar to one she produced in her first Senate campaign six years ago, in which she embraced the elimination of the state income tax that was imposed during the administration of former Gov. Don Sundquist, a fellow Republican who died Aug. 27 , was suggested.

    But that was about a quarter of a century ago. When she was a senator. She previously served in the US House of Representatives for 16 years.

    And that problem was solved once and for all when Tennessee voters in 2014 — yes, 10 years ago — enshrined an amendment banning an income tax in the state constitution.

    There was no mention of what she did during her first term as a U.S. senator.

    I’ve written about how she tries to reach bipartisan consensus on some issues and is extremely partisan on others.

    She does not mention, for example, that she voted against a measure to increase federal protections for in vitro fertilization or that she opposed the recent continuing order to keep the federal government functioning, including a federal disaster relief request $20 billion Emergency Management Agency.

    Had their side won, efforts to help victims of Hurricanes Helene and Milton in the Southeast, including Tennessee, may have been significantly hampered.

    In this competitive Senate race, only one candidate is behaving as if there is a choice

    Blackburn, R-Brentwood, doesn’t mention her opponent, Johnson, because it appears she sees her re-election as a mere formality, without being held accountable for what she did or didn’t accomplish in office.

    To be sure, her strong criticism of and opposition to President Joe Biden and her devotion to former President Donald Trump are popular with her base. But how does that translate to everything she has accomplished for Tennesseans?

    Likewise, Johnson, who is part of the Democratic superminority in the Tennessee General Assembly, could talk about why her vocal opposition to House Speaker Cameron Sexton is important.

    There is nothing wrong with Johnson owning a gun. Former Congresswoman Diane Black, a Republican, made a commercial in which she fired a few shots at the shooting range. Vice President Kamala Harris recently discussed her Glock pistol in a “60 Minutes” interview.

    But her support for gun law reform in the face of mass killings across the country is crucial to her political identity.

    Interestingly, reproductive rights do not appear in any of the advertisements. Blackburn is staunchly pro-life, while Johnson is staunchly pro-choice and has opposed Tennessee’s highly restrictive abortion laws. This is an issue that Americans say they care deeply about, showing wide differences between the candidates.

    Unlike Blackburn, however, Johnson is at least willing to go on public stages, give interviews and attend events to talk about her campaign.

    While Tennessee’s red line could heavily favor Blackburn on Nov. 5, voters will be worse off if the incumbent doesn’t act if there is actually a contested race.

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    Eira Gwyneth
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