Republican Marsha Blackburn won election Wednesday as governor of Tennessee, defeating Democrat Jerri Green. To take office, Blackburn will have to resign from the U.S. Senate, where she has served for nearly eight years. She previously spent 16 years in the U.S. House and four in the Tennessee Senate. Blackburn will succeed Republican Gov. Bill Lee, who was term-limited. Green is a Memphis City Council member. The Associated Press declared Blackburn the winner at 12:43 a.m. EST.