Republican U.S. Army combat veteran Matt Van Epps has clinched a single-digit victory in Tennessee’s special 7th District Congressional election, fending off a shockingly competitive challenge from Democrat Aftyn Behn and adding one more vote to the razor-thin GOP House majority.
Unofficial final vote tallies showed Van Epps with a lead of 9 percentage points in the district Trump won by 22 points last year.
The narrow margin could be a warning sign for Republicans less than a year before 2026 midterms.
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“This is just an incredible win. Tonight you sent a message loud and clear: The people of Middle Tennessee stand with President Donald J. Trump,” Van Epps told supporters at Millennium Maxwell House Hotel in Nashville. “Tonight we showed running from Trump is how you lose. Running with Trump is how you win.”
Van Epps was out-fundraised by Behn. His success was bolstered by an early endorsement from President Donald Trump, more than $6 million in outside spending from political action committees and grassroots support from the Republican National Committee.
While Behn did not win, her grassroots outreach shifted the district by about 12 percentage points to the left. Democrats called her “dramatic overperformance” despite the long odds “a blaring warning sign” ahead of 2026 midterms.
Just before 9 p.m., Behn walked on stage at Marathon Music Works in Nashville to Dolly Parton’s song “9 to 5 ” and sang with supporters before addressing the loss.
“I know tonight was not the results we wanted, but I want to thank all of you from the bottom of my heart,” Behn said. “This isn’t the end of our story. It’s not even close. Because what we built here in this district is a grassroots movement, is part of something bigger that is happening across the South.”
“Tennessee is full of people who want to build something better,” she said. “Tonight isn’t the end. It’s the next chapter in Tennessee and American politics.”
Behn outperformed every Democrat that has run in the 7th District in more than 40 years.
“What happened tonight in Tennessee makes it clear: Democrats are on offense and Republicans are on the ropes,” DNC Chair Ken Martin said. “Aftyn Behn’s overperformance in this Trump +22 district is historic and a flashing warning sign for Republicans heading into the midterms.”
Martin said Behn’s focus on affordability drove Republicans to seek a bailout of millions in Republican spending and telerally support from Trump, all to “barely hold this traditionally safe Republican seat.”
“The fact that Republicans spent millions to protect this Trump +22 district and still lost so much ground should have the GOP shaking in their boots,” Martin said. “Democrats are all gas and no brakes as we head into next year, organizing everywhere and competing in elections across the country.”
The election was the last contest of 2025, and Tennessee’s first special congressional election in more than four decades.
Voters chose the candidate to replace U.S. Rep. Mark Green, who retired earlier this year to seek a job in the private sector.
The district includes parts of Nashville, a Democratic stronghold, and Clarksville, as well as several historically Republican rural counties.
Tennessee special election results
A resounding win?
After his speech, when pressed on his single-digit margin, Van Epps repeatedly called his victory a “resounding win.”
“We could not be happier with this resounding win,” Van Epps said. “We’re confident. We’re excited. It was resounding. When last I checked, we’re up nine points, and I know that’s going to go up or down a little bit, but it’s a resounding win.”
Redistricting in 2021 diluted Republican power in the district, but it remained strongly red, with Trump winning the district by 22 percentage points last year.
But on Dec. 2, Republicans lost ground in all 14 counties in the district, with some solidly Republican rural counties like Perry, Houston, Humphreys and Cheatham counties shifting to the left by a stunning 12 to 15 percentage points.
On Dec. 1, Trump acknowledged that analysts will interpret results in Tennessee’s 7th District as a signal of voters’ satisfaction with his administration, saying that if Van Epps underperforms Trump’s 22-point victory last year, politicos will say voters no longer approve of Trump.
“If it’s like, two points less than that, they’ll say ‘oh, he’s losing his magic,’” Trump said. “I want Matt to do better than me even.”
Van Epps significantly underperformed Trump, and every Republican in that district for the last four decades.
“Tonight the people of Tennessee spoke, and we are so excited by this outcome,” Van Epps said. “It was nine points when I last looked, and it’s just a huge win. … I don’t think these are razor thin. I think we had a resounding win today.”
Shortly after 8:50 p.m., the Van Epps’ crowd at Millennium Maxwell House Hotel broke out in chants of “Matt! Matt! Matt” minutes before Gov. Bill Lee introduced him.
“This wouldn’t have happened without President Trump, and with his support, his help in both the primary and in the general election, and so we owe him a deep debt of gratitude,” Lee said.
Van Epps thanked Trump early in his victory speech, saying Trump’s endorsement “made the difference, and I will never forget it.”
Trump took to Truth Social shortly after the race was called to tout the win.
“Congratulations to Matt Van Epps on his BIG Congressional WIN in the Great State of Tennessee,” he wrote. “The Radical Left Democrats threw everything at him, including Millions of Dollars. Another great night for the Republican Party!!!”
A perfect storm
Many elections in Tennessee’s Republican-heavy districts are decided in the primary, and voters widely expected that to be the case here.
But the general election that Republicans expected to be an easy win unexpectedly turned into the most competitive contest of President Donald Trump’s second term so far as Behn, a seasoned grassroots organizer, laser-focused her campaign on the affordability crisis ― and then the federal government shutdown hit.
Behn’s campaign emphasized grassroots organizing, activating canvassers and volunteers in neighborhoods and counties typically unreached during congressional elections. DNC Chair Ken Martin and Vice Chair Jane Kleeb visited the district to knock doors. Former Vice President Kamala Harris returned to the campaign trail for the first time since 2024 to urge voters to get to the polls.
Late-stage polling showed just a 2-point margin between Van Epps and Behn, indicating her strategy moved the needle.
In response, national Republicans scrambled to shore up voter turnout.
MAGA Inc., Trump’s political action committee, spent more than $1.25 million in recent days supporting Van Epps and opposing Behn. Full-time Republican National Committee staff came to the district to knock doors. House Speaker Mike Johnson and RNC Chair Joe Gruters visited the district to stump with Van Epps.
Trump held a third telerally for Van Epps hours before polls opened and made numerous appeals to voters on social media.
Also unusual in a strongly GOP district, Behn out fundraised Van Epps, bringing in $1.23 million to Van Epps’ $993,000.
But Van Epps’ campaign, from the primary through the general, was buoyed by about $6 million in outside PAC spending. Behn’s campaign was supported by more than $1 million in PAC spending.
A bellwether for 2026
The race by default became an early referendum on Trump’s second administration.
From the beginning, Van Epps ran his campaign on loyalty to Trump, pledging to use his seat, if elected, to “stand shoulder to shoulder” with Speaker Johnson to advance Trump’s agenda. His fealty to the president quickly earned him Trump’s endorsement ― which in the past has all but ended Republican primaries in Tennessee.
But much has happened since the primary.
Voter frustration over government functionality rose with the longest-ever federal shutdown, which left federal workers without pay, caused air travel delays and delayed federal food aid payments.
Concerns continued to rise over the costs of health insurance as congressional negotiations over health care tax credits took center stage as the issue preventing the government from reopening.
From the beginning, Behn centered her campaign on the affordability crisis, pledging to work to lower costs of groceries, housing and health care.
That resonated with voters, as Behn’s team knocked on 70,000 doors and made 185,000 phone calls.
Both sides also see the contest as a bellwether for 2026 midterms.
Democrat momentum has been building since a series of victories in New Jersey, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Georgia last month, and Democrats sought to keep that momentum going by flipping Tennessee’s 7th District seat.
Republicans sought to stop the momentum of a “blue tidal wave,” of Democratic victories as U.S. Sen. Bill Hagerty called it on Dec. 1.
“They’ve won a couple of governor’s races and a mayoral race in blue cities and blue states, and they’re trying to turn the narrative into some kind of tidal wave,” Hagerty said. “This is the moment we stop them from doing it.”
Republican National Committee Chairman Joe Gruters touted the party’s success in that effort while congratulating Van Epps.
“Voters didn’t just reject Aftyn Behn and her anti-Tennessee, abolish-the-police agenda — they rejected the Democrats’ entire radical platform,” Gruters said. “While Democrats stood united behind Behn and her far-left ideas, Republicans stood behind Matt Van Epps, a patriot who loves his state and loves this nation.”
While Behn did not ultimately win the race, Democrats see her success in closing the margin in the 7th District as a precursor to success next year.
“Tonight’s election results prove exactly what the DCCC has known all along — Democrats are on offense not just in the standard swing districts but in red terrain across the country,” said Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spokesperson Madison Andrus. “Our expansive battlefield shows that Democrats are ready to fight in rural districts, in Latino communities, in Trump country, and everywhere in between. House Republicans are officially on notice — Democrats are taking back the majority in 2026.”
Kenya Anderson contributed.
Vivian Jones covers state government and politics for The Tennessean. Reach her at vjones@tennessean.com.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Republican Van Epps wins TN special election but Democrat gains ground
