Former nominee Marquita Bradshaw running for Senate again

BY STEPHEN ELLIOT

Marquita Bradshaw, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in 2020, is running again next year.

Bradshaw, a Memphis environmental justice advocate, is aiming to take on Republican U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn in 2024.

In 2020, Bradshaw upset James Mackler, backed by national Democrats, in the Democratic primary and went on to lose by 27 percentage points to now-Sen. Bill Hagerty.

“There were votes left on the table that we were not able to reach last time, some of it due to COVID and other restraints,” Bradshaw told the Post on Thursday. “We have a sure organizing plan to make sure we get those voters engaged early and really excited about the 2024 election.”

Bradshaw said she would focus on “really representing Tennessee for working people, education and the economy and environment.”

After the 2020 election, Bradshaw was reluctant to concede to Hagerty, despite the vote margin. On Thursday, she called concession an “antiquated tradition.”

“I wanted to make sure all the votes were counted, because voters decide elections,” she said, adding that “the voters decided that he was the United States senator.”

Since the 2020 election, Bradshaw launched nonprofit Sowing Justice and was mentioned as a potential nominee to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

State Rep. Gloria Johnson (D-Knoxville) previously told the Post she is considering a run for the Democratic nomination for Senate. Nashville attorney Joanne Sowell launched an exploratory effort earlier this year but decided not to run.

This story was first published by our sister publication Nashville Post.