Marsha Blackburn

Early voting is underway, and Tennessee's Aug. 6 primary is approaching fast, prompting questions about whether GOP gubernatorial front-runner U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn will debate her opponents, U.S. Rep. John Rose and Rep. Monty Fritts, R-Kingston.

A debate was in the works, but it quickly dissolved after Blackburn opted out. With no replacement debate announced and little time remaining before election day, Tennessee voters are unlikely to see the GOP candidates share the stage for a debate.

Tennessee's Democratic gubernatorial candidates will also not hold a debate.

What happened to NewsChannel 5's GOP gubernatorial debate?

Tennessee's three GOP gubernatorial candidates were supposed to debate live on NewsChannel 5 at Cumberland University in Lebanon on July 20, but U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn declined to participate, prompting Rose's withdrawal, and ultimately, the event's cancellation.

NewsChannel 5 announced the cancellation of the debate on July 8. "Senator Blackburn has votes scheduled in the Senate that evening," Blackburn's campaign manager, Abigail Sigler, told NewsChannel 5.

Nashville's local news channel asked Blackburn's team if a different date would work. However, as of July 13, it had not heard back.

"Tennesseans deserve to hear from all three candidates. Senator Blackburn's refusal is not a surprise, as she continues her campaign of running away from voters," Rose's campaign manager, Chris Devaney, said in a statement.

"We are hopeful she will agree to an alternative date, but we aren't holding our breath."

Beyond declining to appear on NewsChannel 5's debate, Blackburn has been selective as to who she will speak to and where she will appear as of late. This is the second time this month Blackburn has opted out of appearing alongside her GOP opponents, Rose and Fritts.

Has Marsha Blackburn appeared at forums with her opponents?

Blackburn was invited to attend the East Tennessee Young Republicans forum in Knoxville on July 10 with Rose and Fritts. She did not attend, but Fritts and Rose did.

Prior to the forum, Blackburn said she appeared with Fritts and Rose publicly several times in a TV interview with Action News 5’s Joe Birch in Memphis on July 7.

“Republicans, we have had lots of forums across the state where all three of us have been onstage, and that’s a good thing because people have been able to see us onstage, and they’ve been able to hear from us,” Blackburn said.

The three have attended and spoken at private events, including the annual GOP Statesmen’s Dinner in Nashville last month, but haven't debated or appeared in any forums publicly, according to Tennessean reporting.

Blackburn's campaign team did not respond when asked about the specific forums she referenced in her interview with Birch.

Rose did not respond directly to Blackburn's absence. However, ahead of the Knoxville forum, his campaign released an ad called "Marsha Meltdown," featuring clips from a viral elevator interview Blackburn gave to NewsChannel 5's Ben Hall, in which she declined to answer the reporter's questions.

Blackburn has recently come under more scrutiny due to a leaked document obtained by NewsChannel 5 revealing that her June 29 roundtable in Johnson City was largely curated.

The "run of show" document showed that all participants were elected officials or community leaders and that all of them were given an allotted speaking time and specific topics of discussion. One of the attendees' questions was even scripted, according to NewsChannel 5.

Why is Marsha Blackburn being selective about her media appearances?

Blackburn did opt out of the mentioned events and has not responded to news outlets' inquiries, including the Tennessean's. However, she has not been radio silent, as the gubernatorial candidate has appeared in interviews on SuperTalk 99.7 WTN with Dan Mandis, Action News 5 and WBIR-TV.

On the day of the East Tennessee Republicans forum, Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, provided some insight into her decision to forgo the chance to debate her opponents, citing her front-runner status in the GOP primary.

"A lot of times, with the front-runner status, they don't want to participate because they're the frontrunner," Sexton told WBIR.

“I would love to see a debate. I think that’s what Tennesseans want,” Sexton, also told The Tennessean. “It’s hard to see the differences from the TV ads, and when one gets up to speak … and you don’t have the interaction.”

Regarding why she refused to answer NewsChannel 5's questions while heading into an elevator, Blackburn told host Dan Mandis of SuperTalk 99.7 WTN that she could not discuss campaign matters given that she was attending a federal event.

The impromptu interview did not happen during the actual event, but when Blackburn was heading to an elevator in a hallway.

As of July 14, Blackburn remained the GOP gubernatorial front runner with a 31-point lead, according to a poll circulated by her campaign obtained by The Tennessean.

Vivian Jones of The Tennessean contributed to this report.

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