Charles Van Morgan

Charles Van Morgan of Knoxville is an independent candidate for governor of Tennessee who qualified by petition. He is listed as a businessman and former police officer, and describes himself as a Tennessee Highway Patrol veteran who now runs the Unbridled News YouTube channel.[1][3] His campaign slogan is "Government Serving Us."[3]

Van Morgan was born in Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, according to the Ballotpedia profile summarized by the Tennessee Firefly.[1] That profile says he earned a bachelor's degree from Tennessee Wesleyan College in 1996, a graduate degree from the University of Tennessee in 2001 and a law degree from the Nashville School of Law in 2015, and that his career includes owning a logistics and transportation business and serving as a police officer and state trooper.[1] In a June 2026 letter to voters he describes himself as an 18-year commissioned law enforcement officer and Tennessee Highway Patrol veteran.[3]

Van Morgan says he runs Unbridled News, an accountability journalism YouTube channel, and that he has knocked 40,000 doors across all 95 Tennessee counties.[3] He says he passed the bar exam twice and was denied a law license twice, and that he filed a federal civil rights lawsuit challenging the denial.[3] His letter names the cost of living, accountability in the state judiciary and federal food assistance for children among his issues, and he is among the 13 independent candidates for governor on the November ballot.[2][3]

Van Morgan filed his petition from Knoxville on March 4, 2026, and the Secretary of State recorded its signatures as approved.[1]

Researched from the cited sources on 2026-10-21.