Tennessee gubernatorial candidates finances, day six: What PAC money shows in early state filings
by Brandon Burley and The Redemption Project
Political action committees are often one of the first categories voters ask about when campaign finance becomes public.
That is partly because PAC money is familiar in political language but often misunderstood in practical terms. Many voters hear “PAC” and immediately picture one kind of influence, when in reality the category includes several very different kinds of organized political participation.
This analysis examines PAC money reported in Tennessee state campaign finance filings from 2025 through first-quarter 2026. It does not include federal campaign accounts, which will be examined separately because PAC activity often appears very differently at the federal level and often carries far larger totals.
In Tennessee state filings, PAC totals remain smaller than many people assume when compared with individual contributions or self-funding.
Marsha Blackburn reports $103,187 in PAC contributions, the largest total in the field examined here.
John Rose reports $25,000.
Jerri Green reports $14,500.
Monty Fritts reports $10,000.
Lauren Pinkston reports no PAC money in the Tennessee filings reviewed for this period after campaign clarification separated earlier uncategorized receipts.
