MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Republican Bill Hagerty won the U.S. Senate race in Tennessee over Memphis Democrat Marquita Brashaw, according to the Associated Press.
But Bradshaw refused to concede Tuesday night, saying she would continue to fight.
“No, Hagerty in not my U.S. Senator and we will count the last vote,” she said. “My name is Marquita Bradshaw and I will be your next United States Senator.”
The race was called by AP at 7 p.m., when polls closed. By 10 p.m., with nearly 80% of votes counted, Hagerty was ahead 62% to 35%.
Hagerty, 61, is the former U.S. Ambassador to Japan – having served from 2017-2019 under President Trump. He previously served as Tennessee’s Commissioner of Economic and Community Development under Gov. Bill Haslam. Hagerty was also was an economic advisor to President George H.W. Bush.
Bradshaw, 46, is a Memphis native who is a community activist and serves as the environmental justice chair of the Sierra Club’s Tennessee chapter. She is the niece of State Representative John DeBerry. Bradshaw is the first African American woman to win a major party nomination for statewide office in Tennessee.
The incoming senator will replace Republican Lamar Alexander, who is retiring.
