Marsha Blackburn

In a new ad in the race for Tennessee governor, U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn pledges to "crack down” on the People’s Republic of China and "hunt down communists" — while crushing fortune cookies.

While Blackburn’s campaign has gotten a boost from more than $1 million in TV ads purchased by the Washington-based PAC Tennessee Freedom Fund, this is the first Blackburn ad her campaign has paid for — purchasing about $112,000 in airtime statewide as of July 6.

In the ad, Blackburn is sitting in what appears to be a Chinese restaurant at a table with a menu, a bottle of soy sauce and a basketful of fortune cookies.

“How am I going to crack down on China? Well, here’s a clue,” Blackburn says, picking up a fortune cookie, cracking it like an egg on the table and crushing it in her hands.

Lying atop cookie crumbs, the fortune reads, “Marsha Blackburn will fight to protect Tennessee land from China.”

“Marsha Blackburn worked with President Trump to take on communist China,” a narrator says. "As governor, Marsha will fight to protect Tennessee land from Chinese-owned companies, close loopholes and hunt down every communist who tries to defy us.”

A second fortune reads, "Marsha Blackburn will close loopholes and hunt down communists."

“It doesn’t take a fortune cookie to figure it out. Here in Tennessee, we’re going to stop communist China and protect Tennessee land,” Blackburn says.

The ad ends with a clip of a cat figurine with a paw raised in a beckoning motion — a traditional Japanese symbol of good fortune.

Blackburn has for decades been an outspoken critic of the Chinese communist party. She has proposed legislation to shut down Confucius Institutes at American universities, and supported a bipartisan measure to direct the U.S. attorney general to annually report on federal efforts to combat Chinese espionage inside the United States. She made a formal visit to Taiwan in 2022 to meet with Taiwanese leadership.

Communism is not illegal in the United States. Expression of and belief in communist ideology is a protected First Amendment right. Knoxville is home to a chapter of the Communist Party USA, a national communist organization. CPUSA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Tennessee lawmakers have already passed legislation banning foreign adversarial nations, including China, and entities under their control to purchase Tennessee farmland.

A registry of foreign-owned property maintained by the U.S. Department of Agriculture shows Chinese entities own 168 parcels of land nationwide, totalling 247,659 acres, none of which are located in Tennessee.

In 2024, land management firm Walton Tennessee LLC purchased about 500 acres of land in Loudon County, somewhat near the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and reportedly deeded some parcels to Chinese investors. No transfer of land has been reported to the Tennessee Secretary of State’s registry of foreign-owned land, as required by state law.

While a PAC supporting Blackburn has attacked her primary opponent, U.S. Rep. John Rose, in ads claiming Chinese firms bought Tennessee land "on his watch," Rose has also consistently called to "outlaw China from buying land in Tennessee" in his gubernatorial campaign. Rose's campaign has spent more than $1 million on TV ads this year. Rose's congressional office also sent taxpayer-funded mailers to constituents touting his legislative record.

Thirty-eight Chinese owned companies located in Tennessee account for about 5,000 jobs statewide, according to the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development.

While the state can choose which businesses to incentivize, state governments do not have an official role in foreign policy.

Blackburn during her 2024 Senate campaign took aim at China in a similar ad, in which she threw ceramic plates emblazoned with the Chinese flag and shattered them on the floor.