President Trump calls Marsha Blackburn 'wonderful woman' and promises to campaign with her for Senate

WASHINGTON – President Trump took to Twitter on Thursday to give his backing to Rep. Marsha Blackburn’s campaign for Senate.

“@MarshaBlackburn is a wonderful woman who has always been there when we have needed her,” Trump wrote. “Great on the Military, Border Security and Crime. Loves and works hard for the people of Tennessee. She has my full endorsement and I will be there to campaign with her!”

Blackburn, a seven-term Republican congresswoman from Brentwood, is running to succeed Sen. Bob Corker, who has decided not to seek re-election.

She is expected to face Democrat Phil Bredesen, a former two-term governor, in November.

"I thank President Trump for both his support and leadership," Blackburn said in a statement. "I am grateful for this endorsement. Tennesseans from all walks of life support the president's work to cut taxes, rebuild the military, care for our veterans and nominate conservative judges who won’t legislate from the bench.

“They expect Tennessee's next senator to work alongside the president and their Senate colleagues to pass his agenda, and I'm looking forward to doing exactly that."

Trump’s endorsement of Blackburn throws an even brighter spotlight on the Tennessee Senate race, which already is getting a lot of lot of national attention because Democrats see it as an opportunity to pick up a Republican-held seat as they try to win back the Senate majority.

Their hopes were bolstered earlier this month by a Middle Tennessee State University poll that showed Bredesen leading Blackburn by 10 points.

Trump’s backing could potentially help Blackburn solidify her support among Republicans. Trump won 92 of the state’s 95 counties over Democrat Hillary Clinton during the 2016 presidential race and remains popular in the state, especially among GOP voters. The MTSU poll put his approval rating at 50 percent.

Blackburn, who was a Trump surrogate during the presidential campaign and served on his transition team after the election, has made her support of Trump a pivotal part of her Senate campaign.

She pledges on her campaign website to “work tirelessly to help President Trump pass his agenda” and reminds voters in campaign ads that she supports his position on issues such as tax reform, the economy, immigration and building the wall.

More: Phil Bredesen holds double-digit lead over Marsha Blackburn in US Senate race, new MTSU poll shows

More: Blackburn, Bredesen each report raising $1.8 million from donors, PACs in US Senate filings

More: Sen. Bob Corker: Democrat Phil Bredesen has 'real appeal' for some Republican voters

In recognition of Trump’s popularity in Tennessee, Bredesen released a campaign ad in early March in which he stressed that he’s not running against the president.

“If he has an idea and is pushing some things that I think are good for the people of Tennessee, I’m going to be for it,” Bredesen said. “… If I think it’s not going to be good for Tennessee, I’m going to be against it. I think that’s what senators ought to do.”

Bredesen himself got an unexpected boost this week – from Corker, who told reporters the former governor could appeal to some Republican voters.

“I think he’s got real appeal – I don’t think it, I know it,” Corker told reporters at a Christian Science Monitor breakfast meeting in Washington. “The question is, in a state like ours that is still a red state, is it enough? I don’t know the answer to that.”

Corker, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he intended to vote for Blackburn but would not campaign against Bredesen, whom he said he has worked well with and considers a friend.