Nov. 5: Marsha Blackburn’s Transition Team; First Bills Filed for Next Legislative Sesssion

TRANSITION TEAM: Governor-elect Marsha Blackburn announced details of her transition team on Wednesday, during a joint press conference with Gov. Bill Lee. Most notably, Blackburn tapped Deputy Gov. Stuart McWhorter to lead her transition team. “Few have served our state so well, in so many vital roles, and there’s no doubt our state is in a better place because of his service. I’m grateful he is once again answering that call to service and to help ensure a smooth transition between gubernatorial administrations,” Blackburn said of McWhorter Wednesday. The choice fuels speculation that McWhorter is in contention to be appointed to Blackburn’s U.S. Senate seat, which she will vacate to become governor in January. When she leaves, she’ll get to name her own successor, who will serve the remaining four years of her second term in the Senate. — Sarah Grace Taylor

BILLS ARE BACK: The dust had hardly settled on the midterm elections when Rep. Gino Bulso (R-Brentwood) and Sen. Joey Hensley (R-Hohenwald) filed the first official bill for the 2027-2028 legislative session on Wednesday. Bulso’s bill is a familiar one, closely resembling his 2024 proposed legislation that would allow beneficiaries to seek $1 million in wrongful damages from companies that mail abortion medication to Tennessee, resulting in the end of a pregnancy. Three other bills, including one by Rep. Sam McKenzie (D-Knoxville) that would put a statue of the late Dolly Parton in the state Capitol, were also filed in the House Wednesday. The two-year session will start Jan. 12, 2027. — Sarah Grace Taylor

ZOO NEWBORN: The Nashville Zoo announced the birth of a giant anteater pup, the first in five years for the zoo’s breeding program and the 27th born since that program was launched 25 years ago. The pup, a male named Mateo, was born on Sept. 17 and is currently about the size of a half gallon of milk. Native to Central and South America, giant anteaters typically grow to six to eight feet and feature a two-foot tongue that can flick in and out up to 150 times a minute when they eat. Nashville Zoo is currently home to nine of them, the country’s largest collection of giant anteaters under human care. “Beyond the excitement of welcoming a new animal, this birth also highlights the importance of the work zoos do to support the long-term sustainability of vulnerable species,” the zoo’s mammal curator Heather Down said in a release. “Giant anteaters face significant challenges in the wild, including habitat loss, road mortality, and wildfires.” Visitors who take the anteater Backstage Pass tour can see Mateo, who will likely be on the back of his mother, Isabel. — David Boclair

TAX TURNOUT: There was no real doubt about the outcomes of three constitutional amendments on the ballot Tuesday, all of which passed easily. Davidson County was the only one of Tennessee’s 95 counties to oppose any of the amendments. Nashville voters disapproved of Amendment 1 and Amendment 2, both of which passed with more than two-thirds of the statewide vote. On Amendment 2, which would ban a statewide property tax, 50.1 percent of Davidson County voters opposed the measure, a margin of less than 1,000 votes. A few more Nashville voters (51.1 percent) voted against Amendment 1, which expands judges’ ability to deny defendants bail. All 95 counties supported Amendment 3, a victims’ rights proposal. — Stephen Elliott

PEDESTRIAN KILLED: A man pushing a grocery cart across Gallatin Pike was hit by multiple vehicles and killed around 1:40 a.m. Wednesday. Metro police have not yet identified the pedestrian who was killed. They said the man was first knocked down when the driver of a pickup truck hit the grocery cart and was then run over by the drivers of a red sedan and a motorcycle. The driver of the truck pulled over and called 911, but police said the other two drivers kept driving and did not return to the scene. They added that there were no signs the man driving the truck was impaired, but it was raining at the time and “there were no pedestrian traffic control devices or painted crosswalks” at the traffic light where the crash occurred. — Steven Hale 

BACK HOME BLUES: Ralph Alvarado stepped down as commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Health in July 2025 to launch a bid for Congress back in Kentucky. (He had been a Kentucky state senator when Gov. Bill Lee picked him to lead the department in 2022.) On Tuesday, Alvarado lost his campaign to Democrat Zach Dembo, one of dozens of seats Democrats flipped across the country. Dembo won with 52.7 percent, while Alvarado took 43.3 percent. The district has been reliably Republican: It favored President Donald Trump by 15 points in 2024, when incumbent GOP Rep. Andy Barr won the seat by 26 points. — Stephen Elliott

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