Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) is being accused by a local Republican activist in Knoxville of "flagrant violations" of campaign finance law to prop up her bid for governor, according to News Channel 5.
"The allegations are contained in a sworn complaint filed with the Tennessee Registry of Election Finance, the state agency that regulates campaign fundraising and spending, by longtime Knoxville Republican activist Gary Loe," said the report. "That complaint accuses the Williamson County Republican of 'deliberately flaunting' rules designed to ensure that money from federal campaigns is not used for state campaigns."
Specifically, Loe is accusing Blackburn of sneakily using Senate funds in various ways intended to boost her as a gubernatorial candidate, which her campaign manager denied as "frivolous and wrong."
Speaking to News Channel 5, "Loe said he first became suspicious at the end of 2024 when Blackburn used money from her Senate campaign for a feel-good Christmas commercial — right before she announced she was considering running for governor," said the report." He said, "Typically we see messaging when there's a big issue or an election — and there was neither of those two things" — which made him suspect the TV spot was an under-the-table campaign ad.
News Channel 5's investigation of campaign finance yielded more suspicious numbers: "An independent review ... shows that in 2019 — the year after she was first elected to the Senate — Blackburn reported spending just under $686,000 from her federal campaign account. Last year, in the year after her re-election, she reported spending $3.1 million from her Senate campaign. That's almost five times as much."
Blackburn is one of several Republican members of Congress who are departing to try to run for governor this year, including Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), who faces allegations that he secretly lives in Florida, and Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC), whose self-destructive behavior and rumored mental health issues have caused droves of former staff to come forward with horror stories.
