GOP Holds Tennessee House Seat in Critical Special Election

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

by MARK POWELL

***

Republican Matt Van Epps is heading to Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. – while Democrat Aftyn Behn will be staying in Nashville following Tuesday’s congressional special election in the Volunteer State. Although reading MSM headlines after the votes were counted, you’d almost think it was the other way around.

“Despite loss, Democrats overperformed in bright red Tennessee House race,” Politico said defensively.

“Trump-backed Van Epps ekes out win in Tennessee House race,” online outlet Axios proclaimed.

“In what universe does winning by almost nine points qualify as ‘eking out’?” one South Carolina political strategist chuckled. “I see the liberal media got the Democrat Party’s talking points.”

Indeed, the election was as much about expectations as anything. Because a lot was riding on the outcome.   

***

Running from Trump is how you lose. Running with Trump is how you win. ?? pic.twitter.com/5SJloxwSIW

— Matt Van Epps for Congress (@MattForTN) December 3, 2025

***

For Republicans, it was their razor-thin control of the U.S. House. Going into the voting, the GOP held a precarious 219–213 majority, with Tennessee’s seventh congressional district being one of three vacant seats.

For Democrats, it was a matter of momentum. Having run the table four weeks earlier in all major off-year elections (including governors of Virginia and New Jersey and the mayor of New York City), they were on a political adrenaline rush. Finally, after the shellacking their arch-nemesis Donald Trump dealt them in 2024, they had reason to cheer. Snagging a much-needed congressional seat in a state Trump handily carried last year would’ve been the icing on the cake while also auguring good fortunes ahead for 2026’s midterm elections.

“The whole world is watching Tennessee right now,” Trump said of the race on Monday. And while folks in Bangladesh probably weren’t paying much attention, both American parties were. With the seventh district being the only political game in town at the moment, money rained down on both campaigns.

***

House Speaker Mike Johnson stumped for Van Epps in the district, and Trump also held a tele-town hall for him. Former DNC vice chair and gun control gadfly David Hogg endorsed Behn. During a Nashville visit three weeks ago, former vice president and presidential nominee Kamala Harris urged Democrats to vote in the special election, though she didn’t mention Behn by name.

There was also an unusual dichotomy with the competing candidates. On the one hand, Van Epps, a West Point graduate and former Army officer, was largely an unknown quantity. He had previously served as the Volunteer State’s commissioner for the Department of General Services, not the kind of job that gets a voter’s pulse racing.

Behn, on the other hand, is no stranger to the spotlight. An outspoken progressive dubbed “the AOC of the South,” her career has been marked by more confrontation than compromise. For instance, in 2019, she was hauled out of the state capital and detained following a loudly disruptive protest. (No charges were filed.) That brand of in-your-face activism plays well in urban areas, but in the small towns and farming communities that make up the western half of the district, not so much.

***

Tonight, we did something everyone counted out. We proved to a nation that states like Tennessee are still worth fighting for. The margin was close, and that can only be attributed to the thousands of volunteers who showed out. This is just the beginning. pic.twitter.com/tuHTT4FqkF

— Aftyn Behn for Congress (@aftynfortn) December 3, 2025

***

But explaining that contretemps was a day at the beach compared to a far bigger headache for Behn. A leaked audio clip had her saying on a local podcast from 2020, “I hate the city [Nashville], I hate the bachelorettes, I had country music, I hate all the things that make Nashville apparently an ‘it’ city for the rest of the country. But I hate it.”

Pretty hard explaining that while also asking folks to vote for you.

In the end, it wasn’t close. As of press time, with more than 95% of precincts reporting, Van Epps had drawn 96,988 votes (or 53.9% of all ballots cast) compared to Behn’s 81,044 votes (or 45% of ballots cast). That 8.9% margin of victory is roughly equal to the district’s +10 Republican

Democrats played the expectation card right up to the end. They cited the fact that Trump and former Congressman Mark Green, a Republican who held the seat for more than six years before resigning last summer, each carried the district by about 20 points in 2024.

“You could have played a drinking game if you watched John King’s reporting on CNN Tuesday night,” a national pollster in Washington told us. “If you had a shot every time he said the phrase ‘underperforming compared to ’24,’ you’d have become very wasted very fast.” Another GOP strategist put it this way. “The Dems can spin it however they like. But the simple truth is Mike Johnson has one more member of his caucus today, and Hakeem Jeffries doesn’t. And in politics, that’s all that counts.”

***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR…

J. Mark Powell is an award-winning former TV journalist, government communications veteran, and a political consultant. He is also an author and an avid Civil War enthusiast. Got a tip or a story idea for Mark? Email him at mark@fitsnews.com.

***

WANNA SOUND OFF?

Got something you’d like to say in response to one of our articles? Or an issue you’d like to address proactively? We have an open microphone policy! Submit your letter to the editor (or guest column) via email HERE. Got a tip for a story? CLICK HERE. Got a technical question or a glitch to report? CLICK HERE.