Marsha Blackburn

A little over a month ago, Tennessee's funding board approved a substantial incentive for Starbucks, solidifying the coffee giant's exodus from their longtime homebase, Seattle, WA and becoming a talking point among GOP gubernational candidates, U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn and U.S. Rep. John Rose.

Starbucks pledged to invest $100 million into Tennessee's economy and create 2,000 new jobs over the next five years.

During the first public address regarding the move in April, Gov. Bill Lee touted Tennessee's "fiscally conservative approach to business" and attributed it to why people and companies are moving to the state from across the country.

"We're establishing a really strategic presence, and we want to open this office kind of on the Eastern side of the country because we believe in investing — over $100 million, creating 2,000 jobs — in this area, that really sets us up for our next leg of growth," Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol added during the presser.

Despite the promised investment and job growth, politicians and unions alike have criticized the deal, believing the state prioritizes corporate entities over Tennessee businesses.

Beyond the fiscal concerns, labor unions and Starbucks employees themselves have scrutinized the move, citing previous unfair labor charges filed against the company and its reported employee exit strategy out of Seattle.

How much in incentives is Tennessee giving to Starbucks?

On May 20, Tennessee's funding board approved Starbucks' $30 million incentive, covering an average $15,000 per each of the 2,000 jobs created.

The FastTrak grant is the fifth highest-paid by the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development (TDECD) since its founding in 2018.

The 30% of the $100 million is the largest payout in relation to TDECD's previous grants. Until now, the largest grant doled out to a corporation by the state was a $78 million incentive paid to Ultium Cell's $2.367 billion investment, roughly 3.3% of the total investment.

Why are TN GOP gubernatorial candidates Blackburn and Rose on opposite sides of the deal?

Following the grant's approval, Rose called the deal "corporate welfare."

"If we're going to spend it, let's use that money to give 600 Tennessee small business grants for $50,000 to expand or improve homegrown businesses," Rose told the Tennessean. "Or repair any number of our roads. Or improve our DCS accommodations for vulnerable children."

In addition to blasting the incentives package the state granted Starbucks, Rose has also criticized the company's history of DEI initiatives, referencing how it contradicts the traditional culture of Tennessee.

"Everybody's moving to Tennessee. Even corporate headquarters like Starbucks," said Rose in a recent campaign commercial. "We can't let them change our state. Starbucks push DEI and weird transgender stuff. Now they want 30 million taxpayer dollars from us."

Rose's competitor, Blackburn, recently acknowledged the deal and celebrated Tennessee's fiscal policies during an appearance on "Super Talk Nashville," prompting another response on the matter from Rose.

"I think Starbuck is leaving Washington state, because it was so DEI, Woke, high taxes, they couldn't do business there anymore," said Blackburn.

"It's like Starbucks got religion," she added. "Look at [Tennessee], we are low tax, we are light regulation, we are a right to work state." The U.S. Senator also mentioned that the state will recoup its investment into Starbucks after six months.

"Marsha Blackburn is standing up for Starbucks, not Tennessee," Rose wrote on X replying to Blackburn's comments. "When it comes to companies bringing DEI agendas to transform our state, she seems more interested in money and influence than defending family values that have been cultivated for generations."

Early voting for the GOP Gubernational primary starts July 17 and runs through Aug. 1.

Peter Burditt covers trending news and service journalism for The Tennessean. Contact him at [email protected]