JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) — On Monday, Sen. Marsha Blackburn engaged with community leaders during a roundtable discussion held in Johnson City.
Blackburn, who has her sights set on the gubernatorial race, mentioned that their conversations covered a variety of subjects, notably healthcare and the recovery efforts following Hurricane Helene.
“We’ve had a productive day in Upper East Tennessee,” Blackburn noted, “collaborating with Ballad Health on enhancing healthcare delivery and accessibility to better serve this region of the state.”
The senator emphasized that as governor, she plans to maintain close collaboration with local officials and influential figures, such as ETSU President Brian Noland.
“What you want to see in Northeast Tennessee is more projects like we have done, the Model Mill project, bringing growth into downtown communities, educational expansion,” Blackburn said. “Dr. Noland and I have worked a lot on how you do this with the Department of Nursing that they’ve done with that entire school, which is fabulous, how our educational institutions have these partnerships with local employers so that we make certain that people know, here is the best place to live, to work, to rear your family, to have jobs for your kids.”
Blackburn will face Monty Fritts and John Rose in the Republican primary for governor in August.