U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn cruised to Senate reelection in 2024, spending over $10 million in the effort, but unlike in previous years, the money didn’t stop flowing after the votes were counted.
After the election, Blackburn’s campaign account remained one of the largest spenders in the U.S. Senate, doling out nearly $3.2 million from December 2024 to August 2025, when she announced her gubernatorial campaign, Federal Election Commission records show.
Instead of letting her campaign apparatus slow down because she wouldn’t be up for reelection to the Senate until 2030, her monthly spending on consultants, advertisements and private airfare showed a candidate who never planned to stop campaigning.
Gary Loe, a Knoxville Republican activist, called the spending “deceitful” and filed a complaint with the state campaign finance board alleging Blackburn was using her Senate campaign funds to supplement her campaign for governor before she formally announced her intention to run.
“Voters are bright enough to see what’s happening,” Loe said in an interview. Loe’s complaint is still under review by the state campaign finance board.