Republican Marsha Blackburn has won the open-seat Senate race in Tennessee, defeating a popular former governor.
With 74 percent of precincts reporting, the eight-term congresswoman led Democrat Phil Bredesen 55 percent to 43 percent in the race to succeed retiring GOP Sen. Bob Corker when The Associated Press called the race.
Blackburn now becomes the Volunteer State's first female senator and the first Republican woman elected statewide. She's more conservative than either of the state's current Republican senators. But while she doesn't come from the same tradition of moderate, pro-business Republicans who have long dominated Tennessee politics, her victory underscores both the strength of the GOP in Tennessee and President Donald Trump's popularity there.
