Grassroots energy surges in Tennessee as Gary Humble challenges Jack Johnson and Monty Fritts jumps into the governor’s race. Both bids signal frustration with GOP leadership and a demand for true constitutional conservatism.
This week brought two significant announcements from Tennessee’s conservative grassroots. Rep. Monty Fritts declared his candidacy for governor, entering a primary field that already includes U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn and U.S. Rep. John Rose. At the same time, Gary Humble, founder of Tennessee Stands, confirmed he will challenge Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson, who has held his seat for two decades.
Together, these candidacies highlight the widening gap between the Republican grassroots and the party’s entrenched leadership in Nashville.
Grassroots Firebrand Monty Fritts Joins Tennessee Governor’s Race
Since his election to the Tennessee House in 2022, Rep. Monty Fritts has earned a reputation for consistency on constitutional issues and a willingness to challenge party leadership. He has been outspoken on matters of Second Amendment rights, government transparency, and resisting what he views as executive overreach. In interviews and public statements, Fritts has emphasized that constitutional liberties are not negotiable, criticizing both Republican and Democratic officials who have allowed infringements to stand.
In his announcement, Fritts argued that Tennesseans deserve leadership that takes their rights seriously, not leadership that treats them as bargaining chips. He pointed to the recent appeal filed by Governor Bill Lee and Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti to defend longstanding gun restrictions as evidence of a deeper problem: Republican leaders who campaign as conservatives but govern with caution and compromise. For Fritts, the governor’s race is about whether Tennessee will continue under establishment politics or return to what he describes as first principles of liberty and limited government.
Gary Humble’s campaign for Senate District 27 is shaping up to be one of the most consequential grassroots challenges in Tennessee politics.
In 2022, Humble came within striking distance of unseating Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson — a two-decade incumbent and pillar of the GOP establishment. On Election Day itself, Humble actually won. But the final tally was flipped when thousands of Democrats crossed over to vote in the Republican primary, a loophole made possible by Tennessee’s open primary system.
TruthWire’s research shows that roughly 2,500 Democrats cast ballots in the 2022 Republican primary for District 27. Johnson’s ultimate margin of victory? Fewer than 800 votes. In other words, absent crossover interference, Humble would likely already be serving in the state Senate today.
That narrow loss has only sharpened his edge. Humble returns to the race with broader recognition, a stronger grassroots network, and the credibility of a man who has already shown he can put the establishment on the ropes. Through his leadership of Tennessee Stands, he has become a driving force in conservative organizing across the state — advocating for term limits, closing primaries through party registration, and legislation to rein in executive overreach during emergencies.
For Humble, the fight is about more than one seat. He frames his campaign as a referendum on the Republican supermajority itself, which he and many grassroots conservatives accuse of complacency and cowardice. Despite holding overwhelming power, the GOP leadership has repeatedly slow-walked or buried bills that would restore constitutional limits and protect individual freedoms. Humble’s message is that Tennesseans deserve senators who will not just wear the Republican label but actually fight for the principles it claims to represent.
The Broader Implication
Victories for either of these candidacies would send a strong signal that the grassroots movement is no longer content to remain on the margins of Tennessee politics. Both Fritts and Humble reflect a larger frustration among voters who believe Republican leaders in Nashville have become too concerned with their own self-serving agendas, prioritizing stability and donor relationships over defending the rights of citizens.
Until now, many grassroots conservatives had struggled to find a candidate in the gubernatorial race they could truly rally behind. Fritts’ entrance changes that dynamic. While his candidacy complicates the field for his direct competitors, it may also provide the shot in the arm the primary needed — energizing disillusioned voters and making the contest about more than familiar establishment figures.
The emergence of these campaigns underscores an unresolved question for Tennessee Republicans: will the party continue under establishment leadership rooted in compromise and incrementalism, or will grassroots conservatives succeed in reshaping the direction of the state toward a more assertive defense of constitutional principles?
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