Rocky at the Top: Filling the Coming Senate Vacancy in Tennessee
October 14, 2026
By William & Mary Law Student Contributor
A senator looks in the mirror and sees a president. A governor looks in the mirror and sees a senator. And from time to time in the political past, the extraordinarily enterprising statesman has asked that magic mirror: why not both? An answer to that question may be found in a notorious historical precedent.
For a brief time during the Great Depression, Huey Long, the populist dynamo of the day, sought to seize a seat in the Senate, while holding onto his throne as the dictator governor of Louisiana. From his election to the Senate in 1930 until the end of his term as governor in 1932, Long claimed the titles of governor and of senator-elect. Over a period of fourteen months, Long oiled his political machine, consolidating enough power by the end of his gubernatorial term to guarantee a loyalist, or lackey, as his replacement in the governor’s mansion. When Long submitted his gubernatorial resignation to accept his new position as senator, he retained his sway over the Bayou State but lost much of the respect of his constituents and colleagues. but lost much of the respect of his constituents and colleagues.
In this parable of the Louisiana giant lies a bit of legal and political wisdom. Ambition was not made of much sterner stuff than Huey Long, so what prevented him from taking up a kingly crown? Contrary to the belief of many pundits, the United States Constitution does not prohibit serving in a state and federal office simultaneously. Article I’s Incompatibility Clause merely maintains the federal separation of powers by preventing politicians from holding an office in Congress and in another branch. The legal bulwark against political avarice may instead be found in the constitutions of the states – like that of Louisiana, which explicitly prohibited Huey Long from holding state and federal offices at the same time – and in the common law doctrine of incompatibility of offices, which asserts that offices with inconsistent natures, rights, duties, and obligations may not be held concurrently. However, while the federal and state election laws pertaining to dual office-holding are weak, the political bulwark against power-seeking is strong. Contemporary constituencies may tolerate a change of scenery or even stomach a ladder-climber, but an attempt at dual office-holding like that of Huey Long, or even a “self-appointment,” is electoral gluttony: a politically deadly sin. Such extreme machinations of machine politics have been replaced by the relative courtesy of gentlemen’s agreements, advice and consent even. Today, rather than run the risk of damning themselves to the inferno and a future of irrelevance, politicians instead choose to resign before assuming a new office – but resign when? Today, rather than run the risk of damning themselves to the inferno and a future of irrelevancy, politicians instead choose to resign before assuming a new office, but resign when?
In 2026, moving between the Senate and a governorship is once more in vogue. Four senators are running or have run for governor, including Senator Michael Bennet of Colorado, Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, and Senator Tommy Tuberville of Alabama. While Bennet will serve out the full remainder of his term, having fallen unceremoniously short in the Democratic primary, Klobuchar and Tuberville are not only their party’s nominee, but in all likelihood the future governors of their respective states. Nevertheless, they have left the question open as to whether they would serve out the stretch from November until January if elected. The fourth senator to run for governor this cycle, Senator Marsha Blackburn, indicated her intent to serve right up to her inauguration as governor of Tennessee. Naturally, questions arise. Who will choose her replacement? And who will her replacement be? And even, who will choose her replacement’s replacement?
As to who will be choosing her replacement, the matter is murky, and almost totally dependent on timing and will. According to Tennessee Code § 2-16-101, the governor is responsible for appointing an interim replacement to fill the seat until the next regular November election in 2027, at which time a new senator can be elected to serve out Blackburn’s term until 2030. In fact, the governor is mandated by the statute to fill the seat if the vacancy “shall deprive the state of its full representation at any time congress may be in session.” With a new congress slated to convene on January 3rd and the Tennessee gubernatorial inauguration slated for January 16th, it may very well be within current Tennessee Governor Bill Lee’s authority to fill the vacancy for as short a period as a few weeks, if Senator Blackburn should choose to resign a few weeks early to finalize a transition. Lee and Blackburn are of the same party and are believed to be on good terms, which minimizes the prospect of an ugly partisan transition fight as seen in Illinois in the wake of then-Senator Barack Obama’s election to the presidency and more recently in Kentucky. Still, a vacancy appointment to the Senate creates an incumbency advantage should the appointee choose to run for the remainder of the term. An early resignation by Senator Blackburn would reinforce Governor Lee as a kingmaker. Senator Blackburn may, understandably, wish to reserve that responsibility for Governor Blackburn, despite the complications of a gubernatorial transition.
The issue is only further pressed when asking the question as to who the replacement for Senator Blackburn will be. Leading candidates include Representative Tim Burchett (TN-02) and Representative Chuck Fleischmann (TN-03). If either of the two fills the Senate vacancy, the governor appointing them will create a vacancy in the House. Sure, Tennessee Code § 2-16-101 acts as a runaway ramp. Beyond clarifying the procedure for Senate vacancies, the statute requires the governor to call a special election to fill the seat within 107 days. Nevertheless, in whatever transpires in the months to come, one thing is certain: it will be rocky at the top in Tennessee.