TN Gubernatorial Candidate, Senator Marsha Blackburn responds to a tightened race and the Debate question

You know, Halloran, one of the things we're looking at doing is breaking this bill apart. And this week, we're going to try again on just the portion that is show an ID when you go to the polls. Everybody's got an ID that they can show when they go to the polls. And the group of us, the conservatives in the Senate, there's seven or eight of us. We have worked on this bill for years. We are determined to get it passed. There are 14 of us, Senator Haggerty and me included in this. And we have said, look, if we have to stay here all of August to get it passed, we'll do that. If we need to put it in the reconciliation bill, we will do that. But what we have found is that once you get something passed and the president signs it into law, that it can be implemented. When it comes to taking your money or increasing regulations, the government finds a quick way to get that done. And we are certain they can find a way to get this done also. The campaign has gotten really interesting. What is your latest polling showing you? Your opponents both have said that the race has tightened significantly according to their polling. Rose says it is a statistical dead heat now. What are your numbers showing you right now? What we are hearing and seeing is we're going to win on Thursday. Our state is looking for leadership, and people know that that leader is me, a leader that can build out this vision, how we keep Tennessee on the conservative track, how we accomplish our goals of making certain. that we remain the lowest tax, lightest regulation, that we develop world-class education for our children, that we become number one when it comes to growing jobs for future generations, being number one, in nuclear energy, being number one, when it comes to... getting health care to individuals, these are all things that we can do. I'm the right leader. I have the ability and the experience to be that leader. I am the best person for the job, and on Thursday, we're going to win. You've taken a lot of heat during campaign. Your opponents and others have said, you're not debating. You're not. You talk to people, but in the ways and formats that they want to see you talk to people of the state of Tennessee, that you've been avoiding that, and they've campaigned against you on that, lots of, a couple of TV stations have gone after you on that. I want to give you an opportunity to speak to that. Do you think you should have debated?

Do you care about that? How is that played out for you in this campaign? And when you're running a campaign, you spend your time the way it is going to be the most productive. And what we found is we kicked this campaign off last August 6th is people wanted to be heard. And, you know, Halloran, Haley Barber used to say one of the worst things is giving a political speech and the only thing worse is having to listen to one. And what we found is people wanted to be heard. They love our state. We've got a great state. They wanted to weigh in on what they see as the best future for our state, for our children, getting those jobs that our children can have right here, making their dreams come true, what they want to see done with lowering taxes, what they want to see done with continuing to work with President Trump. to deport illegal aliens. And so that is how we have spent our time. And we have had tremendous support from one end of the state to the other, and we're going to win on Thursday. You're saying that when you're in a campaign, you have to allocate time and resources to produce a specific result. You're saying that the way your campaign is allocated both time and resources is getting the result, which is to win the primary and make the next step toward being the next governor and that a debate may not have been efficient in affecting that. And people would rather be heard. They would rather be talking than having to listen. And it is such a joy to sit down with them and to hear their hopes and dreams. And that is something that we have invested a lot of time and energy in. And I have loved every minute of spending time with Tennesseans all over this state. All right, we've got to take a quick break. When we come back, I'd like to ask you about some of the big issues that are on the table that you will be facing if you are elected governor of the state, those being – we'll start with infrastructure, and then we'll talk about a couple other things. Senator Marsha Blackburn joins us on the broadcast. More with her in a moment. Don't forget Election Day is – Thursday. The U.S. soccer podcast. I'm your host, Megan Klingeberg. And after interviewing so many dudes during this men's World Cup, I'm so happy to be back with my U.S. women's national team players. I know the U.S. men's national team has changed how I think about myself, how I think about being an American, how I think about being on a team. It's one year out from that World Cup, and we're going to talk about the brightest prospects in U.S. soccer. You ready? I'm ready. Let's do it. The U.S. soccer podcast. Presented by Henko. Follow and listen on.

your favorite platform. Senator Marsha Blackburn candidate for governor of the state of Tennessee joins us on the broadcast. Election day is this Thursday. Senator early voting turnout. The numbers are up. I was talking to Chris Davis here in Knox County today, and we had well over 50,000 vote early, and they're expecting maybe we get close to 90,000 right here in Knox County. Statewide, the numbers are up. Have you or your team done any exit polling? What we know. is that our voters are making their way to the poll. I know that you're going to have a good turnout here. You've got a mayor's election that is taking place. Mayor Jacobs and I were talking about that earlier today. And he was with me in Upper East Tennessee and will be with me as we are in Chattanooga. And yes, indeed, we think that we're in good shape for Thursday. We like the numbers we're seeing. All right, let's talk about some of the big issues that the state is facing. Let's start with infrastructure. The TASER report says over a five-year arc. $87 billion worth of infrastructure, which is roads and everything else. In a state that is growing, we've had some pretty incredible growth. As governor, what's your strategy to deal with? What are you thinking about in terms of infrastructure? Yes. I think you said roads and everything else. I like to count it as roads, rivers, rails, runways, water, wastewater, and broadband. And indeed, we need to make certain that that infrastructure keeps pace with our growth. And back in Governor Bredison's term, we got off track. with what we were doing with working on surface transportation and some of the other infrastructure issues. And Becky Duncan Thomas Massie, who is the chair of transportation and infrastructure in the Senate, she and I have already been talking about this. Looking at it a little bit differently, we know that there's going to have to be some creative solutions to this. Choice lanes may be one of those. The boring tunnel may be another of those. We know that we've got to get back on track with our infrastructure, keeping pace. I don't know all the answers to that today, Halloran, but I know.

that Chairman Thomas Massie and then Dan Howell, who is the chairman in the house, they've had their working group working on this during the summer. I know they also have engaged some of the mayors in these high congestion areas to get their input and also begin to work on solutions because whether it is Knoxville or Chattanooga or Nashville or up toward Clarksville. What we do know is that congestion caused people time and money, and they want to make certain that this is going to be addressed in the near term, not the long term, and that there is a pattern for and a plan for how we can work our way to the point of having infrastructure that meets our needs. Okay. You said one of the things you wanted to focus on in your campaign is listening to the people of Tennessee. As you have moved around the state and listened to the people of the state of Tennessee, what have they told you that they want? worked on in the state. If I look at your TV commercials, I wonder if they are a reflection of what your research and what talking to Tennesseans has said to you. Phones in school, I think we already have things in place so the phones aren't in school, but phones in school, Chinese buying land in the state of Tennessee. I think we have a remedy for that. But are those the things that were coming up as you were talking to the people of the state of Tennessee? We've had good governors and Governor Haslam and Governor Lee, and we have firm foundations in many of these areas. As I've talked with principals and teachers and school board members and parents and kids, bell to bell, no sale is something that comes up repeatedly. so that it's not just during instruction time, but it is from the first bill to the last bell of the academic day. Likewise, a lot of people talk about good jobs, so they want jobs so that there's jobs for the future, for their children, for their grandchildren. We are the best place to live, to work, to rear a family, to build your business, to retire. And they want to see this focus on the future and growing businesses that are here and retaining jobs that are great jobs and recruiting the right type jobs to build on a firm foundation. You look at what is happening out around Oak Ridge with nuclear power. We should be the number one state in the nation when it comes to nuclear energy. and nuclear power. You look at some of the research work that is being done in quantum. And at UTK and down at UTC, we should be number one. Chattanooga is building out the very first commercially available quantum network. You look at getting health care into rural areas. We are great innovators.

in health care. UTMed has worked with us extensively on how you open up opportunity for access to health care in rural areas. People want to see this. They want to see public safety as a top issue, making certain that our communities are safe, that we are working with President Trump to deport illegal aliens. and that we are focused on public safety. That, you know, one of the things that has come up also is the death penalty. And once a person gets the death penalty and they have exhausted all of their appeals, then people want to see that carried out so that the victim's families can finally get some closure. We also hear about infrastructure, which we just talked about, and dealing with some of the pockets of congestion that are around the state. All of this is going to take a leader. As I said earlier, that leader is me, someone who knows how to build that team to execute and to get the job done. Mike Drop, hosted by former Navy SEAL Mike Ridland. How would you characterize your prowess? I'd say my style is that I just kind of outwork everybody until I get there because I'm not a quitter. It's just you. And that's yourself. Everything else is team-oriented. The motivation, it was a sort of anger at myself for being weak. That ends up being the driving factor. That anger, that pride, that ego, I think it's a muscle. It gets stronger. When you take that voice seriously, you start to change your life. Mike Drop, follow and listen on your favorite platform. Where will you be on election night? And what else would you like to say to the people of East Tennessee as you're running for governor? I would like to ask them for their vote. We need a leader, not a manager. It is a time for Tennessee to build on this firm foundation that we have that governors Haslam and Lee and our general assembly have put in place. I think our best days are ahead of us, and I would encourage them. to go to Marsha Blackburn.com, keep up with us, and we're going to be in Knoxville on election night. Are there any other issues that you wanted to touch on? Your opponents are coming after you hard. Are there any other things that you want to respond to or touch on this afternoon? You know, how? Calleran, people can be negative and talk about other people, or you can be positive and talk about this great state that we have and the great opportunities that exist. I want Tennessee to be the place where our kids can have their dreams come true. I want us to be viewed as the state of opportunity. I will add this. Republicans want us to close our primaries.

so that only Republicans are voting in our primaries. And Democrats are not crossing into our primaries. What do you think of your two main opponents, Monty Fritz and John Rose? I think it is wonderful that Republicans have people that raise their hand and run for office. And I'm going to win on Thursday. And I invite those that have supported my opponents to come join us in our campaign. We need to make certain we're focused on sending that message in November that Tennessee is a conservative state that this push. that's a Democrat socialist agenda that they have where government owns everything and controls everything and there's no private property and the border is open and there are no limits to the tax rates. We need to make certain that those blue state policies and those DSA push that they have on is that that ends at the Tennessee state line. And we need to send that message that we are not going to be that. And I'll tell you, as governor, I will make certain that we never become California or New York. Senator Marsha Blackburn, thank you for joining us on the broadcast. We will talk to you closer to Election Day. Thank you for taking this time with us today. Delighted to join you. Thank you. The U.S. Soccer. Podcast. These players are battered and exhausted, but you don't hurt like this if you don't care about this team, about this country, about this game. You can feel the intensity, the goals, the energy that, wow, look at us. Here in the U.S., I have got some news for you. There's so much more to come. My name is Megan Klingberg, and we're just getting started. The U.S. Soccer Podcast, presented by Henkel. Follow and listen on your favorite platform.