‘Not the end of the fight’: Green strikes positive tone in concession to Blackburn

As the night wore on in Chattanooga and election results poured in, a crowd of supporters at Jerri Green’s watch party cheered each time the screen displayed a lead for the Democratic gubernatorial candidate over her Republican opponent, U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn.

In the end, ultimately, Blackburn prevailed with 45.4% of the vote to Green’s 43.1%, according to unofficial final results from the Tennessee Secretary of State on Tuesday night. But the Democrat urged her supporters to maintain enthusiasm and to keep fighting for what fueled a near shocking upset in what, historically, has been a deep red state.

“Tonight isn’t the result we wanted. I understand and I know that this hurts. Because I know how much each and every one of you has put into this campaign,” Green said in her concession speech. “It’s okay to be disappointed. It’s okay to breathe for what could have been. But tomorrow, we have to get back up. We have to dust ourselves off. We have to get back to work.”

Green stressed that the issues that led so many to her campaign — opposition to school vouchers, the lack of rural healthcare, money in politics — are grievances that would not disappear after the election.

“These aren’t abstract political debates,” Green said. “These are people’s lives. These are our neighbors, our families and our communities. And there are lives on the line.”

“While we may be sad, as the other side may celebrate, let us remind them of something,” she continued. “This was just one battle in the future for our state, and it was not the end of the fight.”

Following a race in which every county in the state swung left, including five that flipped to Democrats from the 2024 presidential race — Rutherford, Knox, Montgomery, Madison and Hamilton — Green insisted this would not be the end for her in Tennessee politics.

“Tonight, I didn’t win for you. But I want you to know that I’m not going anywhere, that you aren’t going anywhere, that we aren’t going anywhere,” she said. “We’re not backing down, and we’re not done fighting.”