Charles Van Morgan, an Independent from Knoxville, is running for Tennessee governor in the Nov. 3, 2026, general election. Williamson County voters will see his name on the ballot, according to BallotReady.
Morgan filed his candidacy on March 4, 2026, and the Tennessee Secretary of State recorded his petition signatures as approved.
This is his second run. He ran as an Independent in 2022 and received 1,862 votes, or 0.1% of the total, according to Ballotpedia.
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
Morgan said he worked in security, law enforcement and corrections from 1989 to 2001, then served as a state trooper with the Tennessee Highway Patrol from 2001 to 2012. He has also said he is a business owner of Safe Taxi, starting in 2014.
Experience details are claimed by the candidate in a WJHL questionnaire response.
On the issues
The following positions are drawn from Morgan's written questionnaire response to WJHL.
Government accountability and public corruption
Morgan said his top priority is giving the government back to the people of Tennessee. He said he would hold weekly meetings in different cities to listen to residents. He also said he would create a special prosecutor's office to investigate and prosecute government officials who violate the public trust, including Tennessee judges and politicians.
Healthcare
Morgan said he supports accepting federal Medicaid expansion money and subsidizing free welfare healthcare charities. He also said he supports decriminalizing marijuana and using the tax base for a healthcare infrastructure for all Tennesseans.
Other candidates in the race
The Nov. 3, 2026, general election for Tennessee governor also includes:
- 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)
- Wendell Jackson (Independent)
Candidate questionnaire responses referenced in this profile were published by WJHL. Policy positions and experience are presented as stated by the candidate unless otherwise noted.
