Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) has signaled to donors she may run to replace term-limited Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R) in 2026, and Knox News has learned Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-TN) also is weighing his options.
“Hagerty’s foray into the race follows weeks of speculation about Blackburn. Though she hasn’t announced her candidacy and was just reelected to the Senate, much of Tennessee’s political community has assumed she will be a candidate in the 2026 race.”
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Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.