Glenn Jacobs, the WWE Hall of Famer long known to wrestling fans as Kane, is being discussed as a leading choice to fill a possible vacancy in Tennessee’s U.S. Senate seat if Sen. Marsha Blackburn wins the governor’s race this fall.
Axios reported that Jacobs is viewed as a top candidate for the appointment. Blackburn, a Republican, is the favorite against Democratic nominee Jerri Green in the November election. She has said she intends to remain in the Senate until she is sworn in as governor, which would put the choice of an interim senator in her hands rather than those of the outgoing governor.
Nothing has been settled. Blackburn’s campaign manager, Abigail Sigler, told Axios, “She has been very clear there will be no discussions about a potential replacement until the appropriate time.” Sigler added that the campaign’s focus remains on winning in November.
Jacobs just left office as Knox County mayor. Term limits ended his second four-year term on Sept. 1. He first announced his run for the job in 2017, won the Republican primary in May 2018 and took office after the Aug. 2, 2018, general election. Voters returned him to office in 2022.
Republican Betsy Henderson succeeded him after defeating Democrat Beau Hawk. Jacobs has described his eight years in local government as an effort to leave the county better than he found it.
“Ultimately, the measure of a mayor is ‘did you leave your community in a better place than when you started?’ Overall, I feel that is what has happened here. Knox County was already the best place to live, work, and raise a family. I hope working together, we’ve made it even better than it was eight years ago,” Jacobs said.
“Thank you for allowing me the privilege to be a small part of that. Until we meet again, be blessed.”
He pointed to holding the line on taxes, Operation Heroes Hill, the START Center, Schoolmania and work on a downtown stadium project as highlights of his tenure. When asked what comes next, he said he would have to consider whether another political job would be the right decision for his family and whether he has the skill set to represent all 95 counties in Tennessee.
Jacobs was once mentioned as a possible gubernatorial candidate himself. He declined to enter that race and instead endorsed Blackburn. President Donald Trump took notice of his rise. In May, Trump wrote on Truth Social, “Glenn Jacobs has a BIG political future in Tennessee – A great guy!!!”
Jacobs is not the only name in the conversation. Axios also listed U.S. Reps. Tim Burchett and Chuck Fleischmann. Burchett held the Knox County mayor’s office before Jacobs and remains a close political ally.
A Spry Strategies poll of 900 likely Republican general election voters, conducted Aug. 23-25, found Burchett with the strongest early support among Republicans asked whom they would want in the Senate. On a question about who Blackburn should appoint, Burchett received 31.6 percent, Jacobs 16.4 percent and Fleischmann 13.2 percent. The same survey found 44.7 percent of respondents naming Burchett when asked more broadly whom they wanted as Blackburn’s successor.
An appointed senator would serve only a partial term. The next statewide election is in 2028. The winner of that contest would finish the remainder of Blackburn’s current Senate term, which runs through 2030, when voters would then choose a full six-year term.
According to the U.S. Senate Historical Office, governors have filled Senate vacancies by appointment 34 times since 2000. Constitutional scholar John Vile of Middle Tennessee State University has noted that Blackburn appointing her own replacement would still be unusual ground in Tennessee politics.
Blackburn won the Republican primary with 43.5 percent of the vote, ahead of U.S. Rep. John Rose at 33.0 percent and state Rep. Monty Fritts at 23.5 percent. A Targoz Market Research survey of registered voters conducted Aug. 15-26 showed Blackburn leading Green 46 percent to 33 percent, with the rest split among other candidates and undecided voters.
Before politics, Jacobs spent nearly three decades in professional wrestling. He debuted as Kane on Oct. 5, 1997, at Badd Blood: In Your House, interrupting the first Hell in a Cell match. He later held world championships, including a win over Stone Cold Steve Austin in 1998, and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2021 after retiring from in-ring competition that same year.
He last wrestled in the 2021 Royal Rumble while already serving as mayor.
The contrast between that career and a possible Senate appointment is part of why the report drew attention. People who followed him only as the masked “Big Red Machine” may find the idea surprising. People who watched him govern Knox County for eight years see a more familiar Republican officeholder with statewide name recognition and a high-profile endorsement.
For now, the discussion remains speculative. Blackburn still has an election to win. Her campaign says no short list is being assembled. Jacobs has not said he wants the job. Any appointment would come only after she leaves the Senate for the governor’s office, and the person chosen would still face voters in 2028.
Tennessee Republicans are watching the November results closely, not only for the governor’s mansion but for what those results could mean for a Senate seat that has suddenly become one of the most interesting vacancies on the horizon.
