NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Governor-elect Marsha Blackburn has stood up the people who will manage the handoff from Gov. Bill Lee, putting Stuart McWhorter in charge of both a five-person advisory committee and a campaign-heavy operating staff.
On the advisory side, McWhorter will hear from former state Rep. Donna Barrett, Julie Beaman from the Lee administration, Steve Brophy from Blackburn earlier Capitol Hill years, health-policy veteran Cato Johnson, and economic-development consultant Arch Trimble. Blackburn is due to take the oath Jan. 16, 2027, and will keep her U.S. Senate seat until she appoints a replacement.
The day-to-day staff roster leans on people who already worked her races. Abigail Sigler moves in as senior adviser after managing the governor campaign. Dylan Miller is staff director. Deputies include Rex Purgason, who once ran Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs reelection effort, and Jack Carnes joins as a deputy staff director. Annie Rogers will run operations, Todd Rapp will handle press, and Jensen Blackiston and Katie Tully fill executive-assistant roles for Blackburn and McWhorter.
McWhorter keeps his jobs as deputy governor and economic development commissioner while he runs the transition. Blackburn defeated Democrat Jerri Green and independents including David Hatley on Nov. 3 and becomes the first woman elected governor in Tennessee. She has already flagged early looks at tax breaks on property for older residents and first-time buyers and at ways to bring down the cost of building new housing. The advisory group and the staff team will work in parallel under McWhorter to map appointments, budget priorities and a Day One agenda before the January inauguration.
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