Blackburn won’t address U.S. Senate appointment

Gov.-elect Marsha Blackburn refused to say Wednesday whether she will appoint a former private prison executive to the U.S. Senate seat she is set to vacate.

Asked by a Lookout reporter whether she would name Damon Hininger, the one-time president and CEO of Tennessee’s private-prison company, CoreCivic, to replace her, Blackburn said, “We’ll have conversations about the Senate at a later date. … Not a conversation for today.”

Blackburn didn’t say Wednesday whether she still plans to appoint her replacement or whether she would select someone other than Hininger.

Nevertheless, Hininger, who stepped down from the post with Brentwood-based CoreCivic at the end of 2025, attended a joint press conference between Blackburn and Gov. Bill Lee Wednesday morning at the State Capitol, just a few hours after Blackburn captured the governor’s race in a 2.5-percentage point victory over Democrat Jerri Green.

Hininger said afterward he attended the press conference because he’s been friends with Blackburn and Lee for more than 20 years each and wanted to show them support but acknowledged he is “absolutely” interested in the U.S. Senate seat. He has attended several other events involving Blackburn in recent weeks, as well, including a visit by President Donald Trump to Clarksville.

“It’s been on my heart for probably a decade to serve the state in some capacity,” Hininger said.

In April, Hininger launched an organization called “Believe in Tennesssee.” A press release announcing the venture described it as a “conservative non-profit organization focused on keeping Tennessee the best place to raise a family and grow a business.” A search of the IRS website found no listings for the group. 

Hininger also launched a personal website, damonhininger.com, which features photos of his family and a listing of his community service. The home page labels Hininger “Believer. Husband. Father. Servant leader. Tennessee conservative.”He didn’t know whether Blackburn and Lee would be working together to decide who makes the appointment but acknowledged. “I’m sure they’re talking about it, but I have no inside knowledge on that,” he said.

Hininger added that he wants to show respect for Blackburn’s timetable on making the decision and how she approaches the matter.

Other potential candidates are former Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs, who served as Blackburn’s gubernatorial campaign treasurer, U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett of Knoxville, U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann of Chattanooga and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the latter two of which are considered outside contenders.

Blackburn said during the August primary she would choose her replacement if elected governor rather than leaving the selection to Lee. The matter raised state and federal constitutional questions because the governor makes the appointment and no public official has held a U.S. Senate seat and governor’s office simultaneously.

If Blackburn steps down from her Senate seat before she is inaugurated on Jan. 17, 2027, the appointment would fall to Lee.

Waiting until mid-January could cause problems for the appointee because the U.S. Senate makes decisions on committee assignments early in January.

Lee has declined to talk about Blackburn’s desire to appoint her replacement, saying in August, “We’ll take governors one at a time, and I don’t give advice to the next governor.”

Blackburn and Lee started the transition of the governor’s office Wednesday and announced that Deputy Gov. Stuart McWhorter is chairing the team.

Lee has not addressed the matter, even though a Lookout reporter asked him to clarify his previous statement after a recent press conference.