At 6-foot-3, state Rep. Gloria Johnson was among the tallest of the people gathered in the corner of a Loudon brewery at a recent campaign stop. The Knoxville Democrat was surrounded by about 30 enthusiastic supporters in this Republican stronghold, furnished with all the makings of small-town USA: a rickety water tower emblazoned with the town’s name, quiet streets lined with brick buildings and a railroad running along downtown’s perimeter. 

Johnson points to a Vanderbilt University poll that indicates that she is aligned with voters on policy issues.

Johnson, who announced her bid for the U.S. Senate in September 2023, knows the odds of Democrats being elected statewide in Tennessee are slim. She described her run to supporters as an “uphill battle,” showing a matter-of-fact awareness of the political landscape in a state that hasn’t elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1990. 

But, Johnson told Compass, her run is an uphill battle that’s winnable, arguing that the majority of Tennesseans are, in fact, aligned with her on several issues central to her platform — expanding Medicaid, supporting women’s reproductive rights, and bringing “common sense” gun reform.

Polling and Platforms

If Johnson — the clear frontrunner for the nomination in the Democratic primary — can galvanize politically apathetic registered voters (Tennessee ranked 46th nationally in voter turnout in the 2020 election) by focusing on those issues, she said she believes she has a legitimate shot at defeating the incumbent, Trump-aligned Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn, in November. 

“Republicans are completely out of step with the majority of Tennesseans,” Johnson said in an interview. “... We are just with the majority of the people on these issues.”

The source of Johnson’s claim is a recent Vanderbilt University poll, which showed that 52 percent of registered Tennessee voters identify as “somewhat” or “definitely” pro-choice — a 4 percent leap from 2022. 

The poll also showed majority support for “modest gun control legislation” and the expansion of Medicaid. But, perhaps most importantly for her campaign, the poll showed Johnson’s relatively strong support among women — it has her beating Blackburn by six points among Tennessee women (49 percent to 43 percent).

That’s a reason to be optimistic for Johnson and her supporters. 

“Women do make up 52 percent of Tennessee, so there’s that,” Johnson told her supporters in Loudon before encouraging them to knock on doors, make phone calls and post pictures with her on social media. 

While Johnson still trails Blackburn by 11 points overall, she told the audience, “we never expected to be this high up in the numbers this early, and we still have five months to go, so this is a good place to be.”

Also running for the Democratic nomination in the Senate race are Marquita Bradshaw, an environmental activist who unsuccessfully ran for Senate in 2020; and Civil Miller-Watkins, an educator from Fayette County.

Blackburn’s camp has not minced words about Johnson, describing her as a “socialist” and “as woke as they come.”

When asked about her reaction to that characterization, Johnson chuckled, saying, “well, words have meanings and they should probably study up on the word ‘socialist.’”

She continued, “They can use these words, they don’t apply, but, you know, feel free to lie.”

Johnson said there’s nothing “radical” about her platform, and added that Americans, “overwhelmingly,” want the policies she’s advocating for, which also include capping the cost of insulin and fully funding public schools.

“[Blackburn] is the extremist and she is the one who is out of touch with what people in Tennesse want,” Johnson said. “She has done nothing to lift up Tennessee families.”

Two Campaigns

Johnson’s bid for Senate is not the only race she’s in right now — she’s also running for reelection for her state House seat. (A bill from Tennessee Republicans that would have barred lawmakers from appearing twice on a ballot for separate races failed earlier this year; Johnson contended the bill was aimed at her.) She is unopposed in the House District 90 contest and all but assured of victory in November.

But Johnson strongly rejected the notion that her running for reelection in the state House is an indication that she doubts her chances at winning the Senate race. 

“I ran for both because my district was asking me to run,” Johnson said in a text to Compass. “They were afraid of losing my/their voice. Some Democrats are afraid we can’t elect a Democratic U.S. Senator in TN, however, I firmly believe that we will win this US Senate race.”

She continued, “I can save some time for people trying (to) read tea leaves. I am in these races because I want to make life better for working folks and regular Tennesseans like me.”

“I know that sounds too obvious for cynics who are used to seeing politicians get rich and feather their own nests,” she added. “But I am truly in this to serve the people. Whether that’s here or in Washington, DC, I am honored by the folks who put their faith in me and I’m working my tail off so I don’t disappoint them.”

Going to the Voters

Johnson’s Senate campaign is taking her to all 95 counties in Tennessee in an attempt to increase voter turnout. Loudon County was just one stop. 

Voters there, who were mostly women, consistently said they supported Johnson for her stance on abortion rights, and several chided Blackburn for her policy decisions and what they see as divisive rhetoric.

Sue English-Kovar, an independent from Tellico Village, echoed Johnson’s sentiment that Republicans are out of step with average Americans. 

“What the Democratic party is talking about is let’s do these common sense things that most people want,” English-Kovar said. “Most people don’t want to give the 2 percent more tax relief.”

Dave Brigham, an educator from Tellico Village whose grandparents were Ukrainian, said he disagrees with Blackburn on “just about everything,” especially her vote against a foreign aid package that would have given military aid to Ukraine and Israel as well as humanitarian assistance to Gaza. 

Being faced with a vote on that bill — which compounded aid for countries involved in separate wars — would likely have put Johnson in uncharted political territory. She has long called for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, but also told Compass she “fully supports funding Ukraine.” Because Johnson’s career has been at the state level, she’s not previously had to navigate the politics of foreign policy as federal lawmakers do. 

“Certainly I support funding Ukraine and also aid to Palestine, and also support a ceasefire, so that’s how I kept it with [Brigham] and he was fine with that,” Johnson said of her interaction with the voter. 

Blackburn joined a small coalition of Republican isolationists in voting against the aid package. In February, Blackburn posted a video on X of her addressing her Senate colleagues about the then-pending legislation, arguing the U.S. shouldn’t be concerned with funding foreign countries amid what she alleged was an influx of drugs, human trafficking, gangs and crime resulting from policy at the Southern border. 

While Johnson emphasized her campaign’s grassroots approach and focus on meeting with voters across the state, she acknowledged that money talks in political races. 

So far in this election cycle, Federal Election Commission campaign finance filings show that Blackburn had raised nearly $12.5 million as of March 31, with $8.5 million on hand. Johnson had raised $3.65 million with $2 million on hand. That means Blackburn had just over four times the money left to spend for her campaign compared with Johnson. 

Johnson chalked up the difference in fundraising amounts to a perceived friendliness between her opponent and large corporate and special-interest lobbies. 

“My average (donation) is somewhere around $35, but I don’t take corporate money and I’m not ashamed to say so,” Johnson said. “We are raising money and working very hard to do it.”

Tennessee Three

While fundraising numbers may cast doubt on Johnson’s prospects (top spenders beat financial underdogs in the overwhelming majority of congressional races), voters at the campaign stop in Loudon said a reason to be optimistic about Johnson’s chances is her name recognition.

Johnson first received national attention in March 2023 after disrupting proceedings on the state House floor — alongside two Democratic colleagues, Reps. Justin Jones and Justin Pearson — to protest the Tennessee GOP’s unwillingness to pass gun reform legislation in the wake of a deadly shooting at the Covenant School in Nashville. 

What followed was an attempt by the Republican-controlled House to expel the “Tennessee Three” for their protest. Johnson was spared, but Jones and Pearson, who are Black, were both expelled, though they’ve since been reelected. 

Johnson said she met a woman at a recent campaign stop in Jefferson County, who said she and her husband are lifelong Republicans and evangelical Christians, but are supporting Johnson in the Senate race after watching the attempts by Tennessee Republicans to expel her and her colleagues. Johnson and the couple agreed that the move to expel Jones and Pearson was racially-motivated. 

The woman recalled to Johnson her husband remarking “I’ll never vote for a Tennessee Republican again,” Johnson said. 

“They didn’t believe that the Republican party was demonstrating Christian values,” Johnson said of her conversation with the couple. “They just said that there’s so much divisiveness in the party.”

Johnson, who owns her father’s service revolver and has taken shooting classes, cited other examples of Republicans lauding her for her protest. She also said everywhere she goes, people “agree with me” about the need for reform that ensures safe gun ownership, adding that she supports red flag laws and an assault weapons ban. 

“This idea that they’ve been saying for 30 years that somebody’s trying to take their guns away — nobody’s trying to take their guns away,” Johnson said.  “You can have a gun to protect your family, you can have guns to hunt, but if you need an AR-15 to kill a deer, you probably shouldn’t have a gun. I mean, that’s just stupid.”

Owen McCarthy is a Compass summer intern.