Gov.-elect Marsha Blackburn said Wednesday that bringing down the cost of living is at the top of her agenda, and that work will start during her transition, WBBJ-TV reported.
Blackburn spoke at the State Capitol alongside Gov. Bill Lee a day after she won Tennessee's closest governor's race in more than a century. NewsChannel 5 reported she defeated her opponent by about 2.5 percentage points and will become the state's first female governor when she is sworn in in January.
"Tennesseans have been very specific that the cost of living is going to be a top issue for them," Blackburn said, according to WBBJ-TV. Ideas on the table include eliminating the statewide grocery tax, capping rising property taxes, and improving child care and housing affordability.
In follow-up questions from NewsChannel 5, she also floated a property-tax cap for seniors, abatements for first-time homebuyers, using unused government property for workforce housing, and cutting construction costs tied to permitting and regulation. She said permitting and regulation account for a large share of the cost of a new build.
Road congestion remains another pressure point. Blackburn said the state must match infrastructure to growth and acknowledged that finding money has been hard. She pointed to a "Tennessee DOGE" effort to hunt for waste as a starting point and said she plans to work with legislative chairmen rather than commit right away to borrowing for roads.
WPLN reported that Lee welcomed Blackburn to the Capitol and named Deputy Governor Stuart McWhorter to lead the transition. Blackburn, who will keep her U.S. Senate seat until she is sworn in as governor, declined to say whom she might appoint as a temporary replacement.
House Speaker Cameron Sexton said Republicans still hold a supermajority even after losing six seats and that cutting the grocery tax on food staples and expanding workforce housing are possible. Democratic minority leader Rep. John Jay Clemmons agreed the cost of living needs attention but questioned how Republicans will deliver.
Sources: WBBJ-TV, NewsChannel 5, WPLN, WSMV