Mary Marsha Blackburn (née Wedgeworth; born June 6, 1952) is an American politician and businesswoman serving as the senior United States senator from Tennessee. Blackburn was first elected to the Senate in 2018. A member of the Republican Party, Blackburn was a state senator from 1999 to 2003 and represented in the United States House of Representatives from 2003 to 2019, during which time the National Journal rated her among the House's most conservative members.
On November 6, 2018, Blackburn became the first woman to be elected to the U.S. Senate from Tennessee, defeating Democratic former Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen. Blackburn became the state's senior senator in January 2021 upon the retirement of Senator Lamar Alexander. A supporter of the Tea Party movement, Blackburn is a staunch backer of former president Donald Trump.
Early life and education
Marsha Wedgeworth was born in Laurel, Mississippi, to Mary Jo (Morgan) and Hilman Wedgeworth, who worked in sales and management. She placed fourth during a beauty pageant in high school.
Blackburn attended Mississippi State University on a 4-H scholarship, earning a Bachelor of Science in home economics in 1974. Blackburn was a member of the Chi Omega sorority, the Sigma Alpha Epsilon Little Sisters of Minerva (an auxiliary to a male fraternity) and was elected both as secretary and president of the Associated Women Students at Mississippi State University, wherein she worked to advance social issues through the AWS Zero Population Growth and the AWS venereal disease programs.
Early career and political activity
In 1973, before graduating from college, Blackburn worked as a sales manager for the Times Mirror Company. From 1975 to 1978, she worked in the Castner Knott Division of Mercantile Stores, Inc. In 1978, she became the owner of Marketing Strategies, a promotion-event management firm. As of 2016, Blackburn continued to run this business.
Blackburn was a founding member of the Williamson County Young Republicans. She was chair of the Williamson County Republican Party from 1989 to 1991. In 1992, she ran for Congress in Tennessee's 6th congressional district, losing to incumbent Bart Gordon, and was a delegate to the 1992 Republican National Convention. In 1995, Blackburn was appointed executive director of the Tennessee Film, Entertainment, and Music Commission by Tennessee governor Don Sundquist, holding that post through 1997.
Blackburn was a member of the Tennessee Senate from 1998 to 2003, and rose to be minority whip. In 2000, she took part in the effort to prevent the passage of a state income tax bill.
U.S. House of Representatives
Redistricting after the 2000 Census moved Blackburn's home from the 6th district into the 7th district, and created a gerrymandered district that stretched "in reptilian fashion" for 200 miles from eastern Memphis to southwest Nashville. In 2002, Blackburn ran in the Republican primary for this congressional seat. Of the four main candidates, she was the only one from the Nashville suburbs. The other three (Mark Norris, David Kustoff, and Brent Taylor) were all from Memphis or its suburbs. Blackburn was endorsed by the conservative Club for Growth. The three Memphians split the vote in that area, and she won the primary by nearly 20 percentage points.
In the general election, Blackburn defeated Democratic nominee Tim Barron with 70% of the vote. She was the fourth woman elected to Congress from Tennessee, and the first woman elected to Congress from Tennessee who did not succeed her husband. She was reelected seven times.
Tenure
Blackburn served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2003 to 2019. During her House tenure, the National Journal rated her among the House's most conservative members.
In November 2007, Blackburn unsuccessfully ran for Republican conference chair. She was a senior advisor on Mitt Romney's 2008 presidential campaign, before resigning her position in the Romney campaign and endorsing Fred Thompson for president. Blackburn was an assistant whip in Congress from 2003 to 2005, as well as deputy whip from 2005.
Committee assignments
Committee on the Budget
Committee on Education and the Workforce
Committee on Energy and Commerce
Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade, vice-chair
Subcommittee on Communications and the Internet, chair
Subcommittee on Health Care
Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, vice-chair – Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade Committee on Judiciary Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Select Investigative Panel on Planned Parenthood, chair