A sluggish elevator forced Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) into an awkward confrontation with a local TV reporter seeking answers about her gubernatorial campaign.
The MAGA senator is the frontrunner in the Republican primary for Tennessee governor, but she's refusing to debate her GOP rivals and has refused to give interviews with reporters, so the delayed elevator at an event in Nashville forced her into a tight spot with WTVF-TV's Ben Hall.
"Senator, can we ask you about your run for governor?" Hall said.
An aide told the reporter Blackburn didn't have time for questions, but Hall said reporters were told she would speak with the media.
"Well, we were told you were going to answer some questions," Hall said. "Why don't you have time to talk? Should you talk to voters about what you plan to do as governor?"
Blackburn glared at the reporter as she waited for the elevator, and Hall asked why she would not debate her GOP opponents.
"We're talking to Tennesseans every single day, every single day," Blackburn replied.
Hall asked whether voters had a right to hear about her plans if elected governor, and she retreated to her talking point.
"We are talking to individuals every single day," she repeated.
Hall continued pressing the senator for answers about taxpayer subsidies to lure the Starbucks headquarters to Tennessee and other campaign issues, and Blackburn continued repeating her talking point as she continued to wait for the elevator to arrive.
"Are you uncomfortable talking about issues surrounding the campaign?" Hall asked, and Blackburn insisted she wasn't. "Then why won't you sit down and do interviews? We've asked you for interviews multiple times."
Blackburn turned to her talking point once again before the elevator finally ended her stalemate.
"She's running out the clock, and it may be a political strategy," said longtime conservative commentator Steve Gill, publisher of the TriStar Daily. "I'm not sure it's a policy strategy, and she may pay a price for it down the road because voters won't know what she really stands for."
Early voting starts in three weeks, and the winner of the GOP primary will be a heavy favorite to win the November election.
"That is not the look that you want from someone who's asking to be the chief executive officer of the state of Tennessee, who ought to be able to fully discuss issues," Gill said.