Gloria Johnson, "Tennessee Three" member, wins Democratic Senate primary

Tennessee state Rep. Gloria Johnson will face off against U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) in November.

Why it matters: Johnson, who gained a national profile last year as part of the so-called "Tennessee Three," easily won the Democratic Senate primary on Thursday. The Associated Press called the race at 7:13pm Central, minutes after polls closed in Nashville.

• Johnson's most prominent opponent was Marquita Bradshaw, who ran against Sen. Bill Hagerty in 2020.

State of play: Johnson, a retired teacher, focused her campaign around abortion access, lowering prescription costs and fighting for gun reforms.

Between the lines: Blackburn, who is running for her second term in office, faced only nominal opposition in the Republican primary. She is the odds-on favorite to win in the general election.

• Blackburn's campaign has cast Johnson as a "radical socialist."

Flashback: Tennessee Democrats have not come close to winning a Senate seat since Harold Ford narrowly lost to Bob Corker in 2006.

• Six years ago, former Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen lost to Blackburn by more than 10 points.

Zoom in: Johnson has been a vocal critic of the Republican supermajority in the state legislature for years.

• In 2023, she joined Reps. Justin Jones and Justin Pearson in a protest on the House floor to express frustration with the lack of willingness to take up gun reform legislation after the mass shooting at The Covenant School mass shooting .
• Republicans temporarily expelled Jones and Pearson. Johnson narrowly escaped expulsion.

Johnson's campaign built on that experience, saying she was "not afraid to stand up to anyone."

The big picture: Johnson is simultaneously running for U.S. Senate and to retain her Tennessee House seat. She represents the Knoxville area.

• She initially won in 2012 before losing to a Republican in 2014 and 2016. In 2018, she regained her seat.