Key Race in Pro-Trump Tennessee Could Make History and Influence Balance of Power in DC

US Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) won her primary Thursday for the US Senate race there. She will face former Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen in November on the ballot for the seat vacated by Sen. Bob Corker who isn't running for re-election.

Blackburn won the primary by campaigning on the Trump agenda, including his wall-building immigration crackdown and his US Supreme Court pick, Brett Kavanaugh. 

If she wins, Blackburn would make history – becoming the first woman ever elected to the US Senate in Tennessee.

On the other side, Democrats are hoping Bredesen could resurrect the Democratic Party in Tennesse. It hasn't claimed a statewide election since 2006 when Bredesen himself won a re-election bid in the governor's race. Before that, former Vice President Al Gore was the last to win a statewide election in 1990.

Tennessee is a pro-Trump state, with the president winning the state by 26 percent in the 2016 election. Analysts expect the race to be expensive, with candidates predicted to spend heavily on campaigning and advertising.

The state's governor's race is also a big deal this year. It's an open race with incumbent Republican Gov. Bill Haslam facing a term-limit and unable to run for re-election.

Democrat Karl Dean and Republican Bill Lee won their primaries and will face one another in what's expected to be another heated race.

Lee was the unexpected winner of the Republican primary -- facing three other candidates vying for the candidacy of their party. The race cost them $45 million, with the four leading candidates reportedly spending $40 million of that from their own pockets.

Vice President Mike Pence backed Rep. Diane Black (R-TN), who lost the governor's primary race. It's considered a "major defeat" for Black. Some political observers say it shows "running close to Trump" isn't a guaranteed win.

Meanwhile, Lee won the Republican primary for the governor's race campaigning as a "conservative outsider." He also focused on his Christian values in his bid for the candidacy. 

His opponent come November, Democrat Karl Dean, told voters he's a leader who can reach across the aisle and work with Republicans in these especially divisive times. 

Bredesen says he'll do the same, even promising to support Trump on policies that are good for Tennessee and the nation if he wins the Senate seat. However, he says he will oppose him if they aren't. 

Blackburn told supporters at her rally, where many of them were wearing "Marsha, Marsha, Marsha" T-shirts, that she is the "hardcore, card-carrying Tennessee conservative." 
  
"We know what Tennesseans say, that they want to see in their next senator is somebody who is going to stand with President Trump to finish the agenda that they voted for when they elected him and sent him to Washington," she told them.
  
Analysts believe Bredesen and Dean would need more than just Democrats to vote for them to win the race. They would need moderate Republicans and Independents to vote for them as well.