Gloria Johnson and Marsha Blackburn land first blows in long U.S. Senate race | Ashe

Democratic state Rep. Gloria Johnson, 61, announced her run for the U.S. Senate seeking to oppose GOP incumbent Marsha Blackburn, 71, in November 2024. Johnson first will have to win the Democratic primary over Marquita Bradshaw of Memphis, who was the surprise winner in 2020 over Nashville attorney James Mackler to oppose U.S. Sen. Bill Hagerty, but lost in the general election.

That primary will be in August 2024. It could be a real contest with the outcome unclear.

Blackburn immediately started attacking Johnson, calling her a socialist and the most woke candidate around. Johnson says Blackburn is a bully controlled by the supermajority House Republicans in Nashville.

This campaign will be hard-hitting. Blackburn provides no evidence to prove Johnson is a socialist. Blackburn will pretend she has a serious race when in fact her close alliance with ex-president Donald Trump and a large bank account gives her an advantage. Blackburn is also mentioned as a running mate for Trump if he is nominated by the GOP. Blackburn could run for both U.S. Senate and vice president at the same time.

Johnson and Blackburn, though miles apart in ideology, have similar personalities. Both are feisty, have a take-no-prisoners approach and irritate the heck out of the other party.

It would not surprise me if Blackburn or PACs favorable to her run TV ads in the Democratic primary to boost Bradshaw, as she is seen by the GOP as the weaker candidate. A trend has developed in recent years in which one party intervenes in the internal primary of the opposition party. Twenty years ago, that did not happen.

Matthew Park, 34, an energetic, hard-working candidate, is seeking the Democratic nomination for County Commission in South Knoxville-Knox County in the March 2024 primary. The 9th District seat is held by Republican Carson Dailey, who is term-limited. The district includes the South Waterfront and stretches from the French Broad River Corridor to Alcoa Highway.

Park is president of the Island Home Neighborhood Association and a credible candidate. He is starting early. Attorney Andy Fox, 55, is seeking the GOP nomination for the same position.

Garrett Holt, 29, is holding a kickoff reception for the County Commission seat held by Kyle Ward, 5-6:30 p.m. Sept. 21 at Scrambled Jake’s, 7428 S. Northshore Drive.

Also on Sept. 21, the South Knoxville Neighborhood and Business Coalition will hold a city candidate forum at 6:30 p.m. in the community room of South High Senior Living, 835 Tipton Ave.

The Knoxville Botanical Garden and Arboretum has hired Sharon Moore as its new executive director starting Sept. 25. Moore, 55, lives in East Knoxville. Since 2021, she has served as director of advancement at East Tennessee Foundation. She spent 12 years at Zoo Knoxville where she helped raise millions, and before that at Big Brothers Big Sisters of East Tennessee. Moore is a graduate of the Leadership Knoxville Class of 2021.

“The Gardens have my heart and I want to see them grow and thrive. I am a gardener myself. I want to help East Knoxville,” Moore stated. She said her immediate goals are to shore up the older buildings and structures on site. She also wants to develop a shared vision that the board will adopt and can be turned into reality.

Ambassador Marek Ziolkowski will speak here Sept. 26 on Eastern Europe as part of the Ashe lecture series. He was Poland’s ambassador to Ukraine and NATO. The public is invited to the talk at 5:30 p.m. at the Howard Baker Center on Cumberland Avenue.

Birthdays

Sept. 21: Robin Harris is 56. Jack G. Bevins is 91. Jeff Lee is 78. Dr. Ty Prince is 64. Lisa Kelechava is 60. Charles Maland is 74. Steve Oberman is 68.

Sept. 22: Janelle Coleman is 42. State Comptroller Jason Mumpower is 50. Former congressman John Tanner is 79. Madeline McAdams is 31. Brett Richardson is 44. Anne Loy is 85. Chancellor John Weaver and Jerry Sinclair are 73. Vance Link is 74. Marité Perez is 38.

Sept. 23: Former Public Building Authority director Dale Smith is 71. Compass Knox’s Jesse Mayshark is 54. Former congressman Bob Clement is 80. Ben Bentley is 40. Sylvia Peters is 85. Suzanne Coile is 77. Charlie Tombras is 82. Matt Hinkin is 60. Attorney Wade Orr is 42. Kent Farris is 82. Attorney Tony Farmer is 74. Morgan Bromley is 44. Kathy Saunders is 65. Robyn E. McAdoo is 45.

Sept. 24: Lisa Plawchan is 47. Liz Stucke is 57. Craig Myers is 59. Retired UT law professor Joe Cook is 84. Stephanie Noble is 52. Attorney Greg Eshbaugh is 44. Tasha Blakney is 49.

Sept. 25: Municipal Judge John Rosson is 76. Troy Whiteside is 27.

Sept. 26: Travis Dorman is 30. Former school board member Virginia Babb is 56. Lori Gano is 47. Commissioner Carson Dailey is 64. Reggie Keaton is 64. Alan T. Sims is 59. Elliott Schuchardt is 57. Kendrise S. Colebrooke is 36.

Sept. 27: Former City Councilman Mark Campen is 48. Former deputy city law director Dick Grissom is 80. James LaPinska is 38. Chris Herren is 48. Nathan Sparks is 65. Jean Davis-James is 84.

Sept. 28: Mark Hairr and Christopher Heagerty are 59. Alice Mercer is 77. Beau Fancher is 49.

CORRECTION: In the editing process, an error was introduced into last week's column. Just over 16% of registered voters cast a ballot in Knoxville's primary election.

Victor Ashe is a former Knoxville mayor and former ambassador to Poland. He is a columnist for Shopper News.

Knox News and Shopper News promptly correct all errors. If you think we have published incorrect information, please email accuracy@knoxnews.com. Describe the error, where you saw it, the date, page number or the URL.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Gloria Johnson, Marsha Blackburn land first blows in long Senate race