Early Life and Congress
Blanton was from Adamsville, Tennessee, and was from a farming family with road-building interests. He had a background as a schoolteacher and he had worked his way through the University of Tennessee. After one term in the Tennessee House of Representatives, he ran for Congress, challenging 12-term incumbent and former Crump machine ally Tom J. Murray in the Democratic primary for the 7th Congressional District, which was based in Jackson and included Adamsville. Blanton defeated Murray in a major upset, a victory that was tantamount to election in the then-heavily Democratic 7th district. Blanton was reelected three times.
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