Charles Van Morgan, an Independent from Knoxville, is running for Tennessee governor in the Nov. 3, 2026, general election. Van Morgan filed his candidacy on March 4, 2026, and the Tennessee Secretary of State approved his petition signatures.

This is not his first run. Van Morgan ran for the same office in 2022 as an Independent, receiving 1,862 votes, or 0.1% of the total, according to Ballotpedia. He is now certified for the ballot again, according to BallotReady election data.

Candidate information

  • Party: Independent
  • Residence: Knoxville, Tennessee
  • Birthplace: Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia
  • Education: Bachelor of science in business, Tennessee Wesleyan College, 1995; master of arts, University of Tennessee, 2001; juris doctor, Nashville School of Law, 2015 (claimed by the candidate)

Experience and public service

Van Morgan's experience is drawn from his responses to a WJHL candidate questionnaire.

He said he worked in security, law enforcement and corrections from 1989 to 2001. Van Morgan said he then served as a state trooper with the Tennessee Highway Patrol from 2001 to 2012, a span of about 11 years in state law enforcement. He said he has owned Safe Taxi since 2014.

Van Morgan said he also earned a juris doctor from Nashville School of Law in 2015, three years after leaving the Highway Patrol.

On the issues

The following positions are Van Morgan's own statements, drawn from his WJHL questionnaire responses.

Government accountability and public corruption

Van Morgan wrote in his questionnaire response that his top priority is to "give the government back to the people of Tennessee." He said he would hold weekly meetings in different cities across the state to hear directly from residents. He also proposed creating a special prosecutor's office to investigate and prosecute government officials, including judges and politicians, who violate the public trust.

Healthcare

Van Morgan said he supports accepting federal Medicaid expansion money for Tennessee. He said he would subsidize free welfare healthcare charities and decriminalize marijuana, using the tax base to build a healthcare infrastructure for all Tennesseans.

The race

The governor's race features a crowded field. Other candidates listed by BallotReady for the Nov. 3 race are Marsha Blackburn (Republican), Jerri Green (Democratic), Dave Seeman (Independent), David Hatley (Independent), Dean Brewer (Independent), Eddie Lee Murphy (Independent), Karl Knox Smithson (Independent), L. Webb Taylor (Independent), Lauren Pinkston (Independent), Misam Abidi (Independent), Ray Brown (Independent), Robert C. Vick (Independent), Victor L. Scoggin (Independent) and Wendell Jackson (Independent).

Candidate responses were collected by WJHL through a published questionnaire. The Hendersonville Register did not interview the candidate.