Marsha Blackburn (born June 6, 1952) is a Tennessee politician. She is a native of Mississippi. She was elected as a Republican to the United States House of Representatives in 2002 to represent the conservative 7th Congressional district (map) of Tennessee.

She had previously been elected in 1998 to the Tennessee State Senate where she led efforts to prevent the passage of a state income tax championed by Governor Don Sundquist.

Her elective political career began in 1992 with an attempt to unseat long-time Sixth District Tennessee Congressman Bart Gordon. She has also served on the Tennessee Film Commission. The 2002 reapportionment moved her home area out of Gordon's district, making the race feasible for her to win. She also had the advantage of being the only major candidate in the primary election to be from the suburban Nashville area, while her three major opponents were all from the Memphis area and hence split that region's vote. In the area now included in the Seventh District a Republican has won every election since 1972. By contrast, most of the area now included in the Sixth District has not been represented by a Republican since Reconstruction. In 2004 she was unopposed for re-election, which is somewhat unusual for a member of Congress who has served only one term.

Mrs. Blackburn is regarded as something of a "rising star" in Republican circles and is considered by some to have appreciably more influence than is typical of a junior legislator. Some had speculated she would run for Bill Frist's U.S. Senate seat in 2006; however, she has recently announced that she has no intention of seeking election to that position and will instead be seeking reelection to her House seat. She prefers to be addressed by the title "Congressman" rather than "Congresswoman" or "Congressperson", which many find to be surprising.

External links

• Rep. Blackburn's web site