Tennessee Gubernatorial Forum Draws Three Candidates as GOP Frontrunner Declines Stage
Three of the four major candidates for Tennessee governor gathered on the Murfreesboro campus of Middle Tennessee State University for a historic statewide forum, just one week before the election. Hosted jointly by the Tennessee Press Association and Middle Tennessee State University on October 27, 2026, the event marked the first time in eight years that gubernatorial contenders have appeared together on a debate stage, according to reporting by Tullahoma News.
Sen. Blackburn declined the invitation, continuing an established pattern among Tennessee Republican candidates of avoiding face-to-face debates with campaign opponents.
Democratic candidate Jerri Green, a Memphis city councilmember, did not mince words about her absent Republican opponent. Addressing those present, Green pointed out that she stood alone on the platform as the only candidate who endured a primary contest and earned support from hundreds of thousands of voters across Tennessee. It is shameful to me that the only other person who has a chance of winning this race isn’t on the stage with us tonight.
Green also stated during the forum, We can’t kumbaya our way out of fascism.
Dueling Approaches to Data Centers and Tax Incentives
Independent candidate Lauren Pinkston joined Green in backing a moratorium. Meanwhile, independent candidate David Hatley argued for stringent guardrails rather than a total ban. Based on reporting from Local 3 News, Hatley maintained that these upcoming facilities must adhere to state regulations if they choose to establish themselves in Tennessee, while highlighting the requirement for corporations to pay property taxes. Hatley further remarked, There’s a reason your property taxes are the fastest growing in this country while we give Google and Meta and X-AI tax breaks and tax abatements.
Hatley also noted regarding the scale of these projects, These are taking up; there are two in Cleveland, right now, that are over 1000 acres.
Candidates Challenge Tennessee Private School Voucher Costs
The candidates drew stark contrasts with Blackburn’s public platform on private school vouchers, a program that currently costs Tennessee taxpayers $310 million annually. Lawmakers previously expanded the initiative to cover 35,000 students at roughly $7,300 per pupil, supplementing an older program providing about $9,000 for roughly 5,000 low-income students in Nashville, Memphis, and Chattanooga.
Hatley and Pinkston pointed out that most rural Tennessee counties lack private schools entirely, rendering the voucher system useless for rural families. Green dismissed the entire policy as a taxpayer-funded scam driven by out-of-state interests, declaring that public dollars belong exclusively in public schools. Additionally, Hatley stated during the event, We need to as worried about what we are teaching our kids as how we are teaching them,
expressing his approval of the Tennessee Age Appropriate Materials Act.
On transportation infrastructure, the candidates addressed a structural funding shortfall in the Department of Transportation budget. Pinkston criticized the state’s I-24 choice lanes program, stating, And to Miss Green’s point, absolutely, this is a toll road, and there’s no data that shows this is going to be effective in eliminating the traffic.
Pinkston also pointed to ongoing research into passenger rail lines connecting Chattanooga as a more effective alternative to adding highway congestion, noting, I’m really excited about the research that has been started with the city of Chattanooga and investing in a passenger rail from Chattanooga up I-24 and I think that research needs to be extended.
Regarding the Memphis Safe Task Force, independent candidate Lauren Pinkston stated that the way to deal with crime isn’t hunting and pecking Black and brown bodies
off the streets.
