Marsha Blackburn

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Marsha Blackburn
Marsha Blackburn

Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Tennessee's 7th district
Incumbent
Assumed office 
January 3, 2003
Preceded by Ed Bryant

Born June 6, 1952 (1952-06-06) (age 56)
Laurel, Mississippi
Political party Republican
Spouse Chuck Blackburn
Alma mater Mississippi State University
Religion Presbyterian

Marsha Blackburn (born June 6, 1952 in Laurel, Mississippi) is a Tennessee politician. A member of the Republican Party (GOP), she represents Tennessee's 7th congressional district, which stretches from the suburbs of Nashville to the suburbs of Memphis.

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[edit] Early career

She graduated from Mississippi State University where she also spent a few summers working with the Southwestern Company. Blackburn now lives in Brentwood, a suburb of Nashville. It is located in Williamson County, the state's richest county and, since the 1980s, a Republican stronghold. A Mississippi native, she began her political career in 1977 as a founding member of the Williamson County Young Republicans. She served as chairwoman of the Williamson County Republican Party from 1989 to 1991.

Blackburn's elective political career began in 1992, when she won the Republican nomination for the 6th District, which at the time included her home in Brentwood. She lost by 16 percentage points to longtime congressman Bart Gordon. In 1995, she was appointed chairwoman of the Tennessee Film, Entertainment and Music Commission. She won elective office for the first time in 1998, when she was elected to the Tennessee State Senate, representing Williamson County and a sliver of Davidson County. She led efforts to prevent the passage of a state income tax championed by Governor Don Sundquist.

[edit] House career

Redistricting after the 2000 Census moved Blackburn's home from the 6th District into the 7th District. In 2002, incumbent Congressman Ed Bryant decided to run for the Senate seat being vacated by Fred Thompson. Blackburn entered the Republican primary. The primary was watched very closely in Tennessee Republican circles. The 7th is considered the state's most Republican district outside the state's traditional Republican heartland, East Tennessee. Republicans had held the 7th since 1972 by margins rivaling those usually scored by East Tennessee Republicans. If possible, the 7th became even more Republican with the addition of Williamson County. It was virtually taken for granted that whoever won the Republican primary would be the district's next representative.

Of the four serious candidates, Blackburn was the only one from the Nashville suburbs, while the other three were all from Memphis and its suburbs. The three Memphians split the vote in that area, allowing Blackburn to win the primary by 20 points. Blackburn's primary win was tantamount to election in November. She was the fourth woman elected to Congress from Tennessee, but the first not to serve as a stand-in for her husband. (Irene Bailey Baker and Louise Reece had served as caretakers after their husbands died in office, and Marilyn Lloyd replaced her husband on the ballot when he died after the primary election.) She is also the first Republican to represent part of Nashville itself since Reconstruction; a small portion of Nashville (roughly coextensive with the Davidson County portion of her State Senate district) was shifted from the heavily Democratic 5th District to the 7th District after the 2000 Census.

She was unopposed for reelection in 2004, which is somewhat unusual for a freshman member of Congress, even from a district as heavily Republican as the 7th. But Washingtonian's September 2004 Best and Worst of Congress, obtained from a survey of Congressional aides, identified Blackburn as one of the three best freshman members.

Blackburn is a staunch fiscal and social conservative, which is not surprising given the nature of her district. She is regarded as something of a "rising star" in Republican circles and is considered by some to have appreciably more influence than is typical of a three-term legislator. Despite this, she was defeated in November 2007 for the position of Republican Conference chairman. Some had speculated she would run for Bill Frist's U.S. Senate seat in 2006; however, she chose to run for a third House term. Unlike most female Representatives, she prefers to be called "Congressman Blackburn."

Given the 7th's strong Republican tilt, it is not likely that Blackburn will face substantive opposition in the near future. However, she is frequently mentioned as a possible candidate for governor in 2010.

According to her campaign website, Blackburn has received the following honors:

On May 31, 2006, Rep. Blackburn was named the “hottest woman in U.S. politics” in an online poll sponsored by Politics1.com.[1]

Blackburn served as an assistant whip in the 108th and 109th Congress, and was recently selected as a deputy whip for the 110th Congress.[2]

[edit] Committee assignments

  • Committee on Energy and Commerce
    • Subcommittee on Health
    • Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection
    • Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
  • Founded the Congressional Songwriters Caucus
  • Communications Chairman for the Republican Study Committee
  • Communications Chairman for the National Republican Congressional Committee

[edit] 2008 Presidential election

Congressman Blackburn initially backed former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney's presidential campaign, joining his campaign as a senior advisor.[3] On May 25, 2007, Blackburn resigned her position in the Romney campaign and endorsed former Senator Fred Thompson for President.[4]. Blackburn has been been named a potential Vice Presidential candidate on a ticket headed by John McCain, now the GOP nominee.[5] However, Blackburn said McCain's running mate should not be selected from a reliably Republican state such as Tennessee.[6]

[edit] Iraq soldier controversy

On September 24, 2007, Blackburn was interviewed on Tucker, the news show of Tucker Carlson, which was being hosted by guest host David Shuster.[7] When asked about her outrage behind the MoveOn.org Petraeus ad campaign, Blackburn accused The New York Times of "betraying the public trust". Using the public trust issue as a segue, Shuster then asked her for the name of the last soldier from her congressional district to be killed in Iraq. She was unable to answer.

Shuster afterward issued an on-air apology stating Jeremy Bohannon, the soldier Shuster claimed to be the last soldier from her district to be killed in Iraq, was not one of Rep. Blackburn's constituents,[8] but rather a constituent of Rep. John S. Tanner.[9]

[edit] Electoral history

Tennessee's 6th congressional district: 1992 results[10]
Year Democrat Votes Pct Republican Votes Pct 3rd Party Party Votes Pct
1992 Bart Gordon 120,177 57% Marsha Blackburn 86,289 41% H. Scott Benson Independent 5,952 3% *
*Write-in and minor candidate notes: In 1992, write-ins received 10 votes.
Tennessee's 7th congressional district: Results 2002–2006[10]
Year Democrat Votes Pct Republican Votes Pct 3rd Party Party Votes Pct
2002 Tim Barron 51,790 26% Marsha Blackburn 138,314 71% Rick Patterson Independent 5,423 3% *
2004 (no candidate) Marsha Blackburn 232,404 100%
2006 Bill Morrison 73,369 32% Marsha Blackburn 152,288 66% Kathleen A. Culver Independent 1,806 1% *
*Write-in and minor candidate notes: In 2002, write-ins received 31 votes. In 2006, James B. "Mickey" White received 898 votes; William J. Smith received 848 votes; John L. Rimer received 710 votes; and Gayl G. Pratt received 663 votes.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Tennessee Senate
Preceded by
Keith Jordan
Member of the Tennessee State Senate for the 23rd District
1999 – 2003
Succeeded by
Jim Bryson
United States House of Representatives
Preceded by
Ed Bryant
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Tennessee's 7th congressional district

2003 – present
Incumbent
Representatives to the 108th–110th United States Congresses from Tennessee
108th Senate: B. Frist | L. Alexander House: B. Gordon | J. Duncan, Jr. | J. Tanner | Z. Wamp | H. Ford, Jr. | W. Jenkins | J. Cooper | M. Blackburn | L. Davis
109th Senate: B. Frist | L. Alexander House: B. Gordon | J. Duncan, Jr. | J. Tanner | Z. Wamp | H. Ford, Jr. | W. Jenkins | J. Cooper | M. Blackburn | L. Davis
110th Senate: L. Alexander | B. Corker House: B. Gordon | J. Duncan, Jr. | J. Tanner | Z. Wamp | J. Cooper | M. Blackburn | L. Davis | S. Cohen | D. Davis
Languages