Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District is becoming more competitive as the vote tightens between Republican Matt Van Epps and Democrat Aftin Behn.
What to watch for in the Tennessee state election
The results of the Tennessee state election could show how well Republicans can do in the midterm elections.
American political attention is focused on Tennessee.
Volunteer state voters head to the polls on Tuesday, Dec. 2, for a special election to replace former Republican Rep. Mark Green in the 7th Congressional District, just west of Nashville.
The race, which includes parts of Davidson County and 13 other counties, has become more competitive between the two parties in recent weeks, with polls showing a close race between Republican veteran Matt Van Epps and Democratic state Rep. Aftin Behn.
Mr. Van Epps leads Mr. Behn by just 2 percentage points, 48% to 46%, according to an Emerson College Poll/The Hill poll released last week. The findings are within the margin of error.
Top Republicans, including House Speaker Mike Johnson and President Donald Trump, have campaigned for Van Epps with an eye toward maintaining Republican control in the field and the party’s narrow majority in the U.S. House of Representatives overall. Leading Democratic politicians, including former Vice President Kamala Harris, have also expressed support for Mr. Behn.
Tuesday’s election comes amid big gains for Democrats in year-end elections, including gubernatorial races in New Jersey and Virginia and the mayoral race in New York.
Here’s what you need to know about the election.
Who is Democrat Aftin Behn?
Before becoming a state representative, Behn, a 36-year-old state representative, was an activist in the halls of the state Capitol.
She was elected to represent House District 51, which includes part of Davidson County, where Nashville is located, in a special election called in 2023 following the death of former state Rep. Bill Beck. She won re-election in the district in 2024. She is the youngest female member of the Tennessee General Assembly.
Before being elected to the state Legislature, Mr. Behn spent nearly a decade organizing throughout Middle Tennessee, advocating for Medicaid expansion, fighting rural hospital closures, and lowering the cost of living.
Affordability is one of the key policies she is pushing to win a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Mr. Behn’s campaign slogan is “Feed our kids, fix our roads, fund our hospitals.”
“If you think things are going well, I’m not your candidate,” Behn said in an interview on News Channel 5 in October. “If you’re angry about the cost of living and the mess between the federal and state governments, I’m your candidate because I’m going to Washington to solve your problems.”
Who is Republican Matt Van Epps?
He won support from President Trump. He had the backing of a PAC backed by billionaires. And he received support from current and former Tennessee governors.
Van Epps, 42, has gone from virtual obscurity to Republican powerhouse, now backed by Republican strategists, donors and state officials in a high-profile race.
Van Epps grew up in an affluent suburb of Cleveland, Ohio, and moved to Tennessee after a 10-year military career in the U.S. Army. He is a decorated combat helicopter pilot who served nine tours in Afghanistan and Iraq and is a graduate of West Point College.
He currently serves as a lieutenant colonel in the Tennessee Army National Guard.
Outside of the military, Van Epps worked in the Department of Veterans Services and the Department of Transportation, and led the Department of General Services.
He was nicknamed the “Tennessee Fauci” by his opponent in the Republican primary. Van Epps’ position was “strategic planner” for Tennessee’s COVID-19 Joint Command Group from March 2020, when the pandemic began, to May 2020. He was part of a close circle of state leaders who helped develop the state’s COVID-19 policy and no-bid contract spending without legislative approval during the pandemic.
Tennessee was one of the first states to reopen after pandemic shutdowns, and approximately 28,600 Tennesseans died from COVID-19 between 2020 and 2022.
Why is there a special election?
Greene, who was first elected in 2018, announced in June that she would resign from Congress on July 20 to take a new job in the private sector, leaving open the possibility of a special election in the historically Republican district.
In announcing her resignation, Greene said she would stay on to help pass President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill,” which was signed into law on July 4.
More than a dozen candidates have jumped into the race to fill Greene’s seat. Mr. Van Epps and Mr. Behn each won their October primaries.
Who will win the 7th Congressional District in 2024?
Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District has been solidly red since 2022, when the Republican-controlled state Legislature redrawn its boundaries by dividing the Democratic stronghold of Nashville into three districts.
In November 2024, Greene won a fourth term with nearly 60% of the vote, resigning just a few months later.
It was the same district that Trump won over Harris by 22 points in the 2024 presidential election.
Contributor: Vivian Jones from Nashville, Tennessee. Joey Garrison and Zach Anderson, USA TODAY
