Blackburn, Marsha, 1952-

Marsha Blackburn (née Wedgeworth; born June 6, 1952) is an American politician and businesswoman serving as the senior United States Senator from Tennessee. A member of the Republican Party, Blackburn served in the U.S. House for Tennessee's 7th congressional district from 2003 to 2019, and as a state senator from 1999 to 2003.

Born in Laurel, Mississippi, she attended Mississippi State University on a 4-H scholarship, earning a B.S. in home economics in 1974. Blackburn worked in sales, eventually becoming the owner of Marketing Strategies, a promotion-event management firm. She continues to run this business. Becoming involved in politics, she was a candidate for Congress in 1992. n 1995, Blackburn was appointed executive director of the Tennessee Film, Entertainment, and Music Commission by Tennessee governor Don Sundquist, and held that post through 1997. In 1998, she was elected to the Tennessee Senate, serving there until being elected to the United States House of Representatives in 2002.

On November 6, 2018, she became the first woman to be elected to the U.S. Senate from Tennessee, defeating former Democratic Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen. Blackburn became the state's senior senator in January 2021 when Lamar Alexander retired from the Senate. She is the most junior Republican who is the senior senator from their state. Blackburn was a supporter of the Tea Party movement, and has been described as a staunch conservative and supporter of Donald Trump.