Republicans will hold onto a GOP-controlled vacant congressional seat in ruby-red Tennessee after winning a hotly contested special election that grabbed plenty of national attention.
Republican nominee Matt Van Epps on Tuesday defeated Democratic rival Aftyn Behn, according to the Associated Press, in the high-stakes race to succeed former GOP Rep. Mark Green, who resigned from office in June to take a private sector job.
“This race was bigger than just one campaign,”Van Epps said in a statement after declaring victory. “It represented a defining moment for Tennessee and for the direction of the country.”
With the GOP clinging to a razor-thin majority in the House, the special election was seen as a must-win for Republicans.
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President Donald Trump carried the 7th Congressional District — which is located in central and western Tennessee, stretches from Kentucky to Alabama, and includes parts of Nashville — by 22 points in last year’s presidential election. And Green won the district by over 20 points in his 2022 and 2024 re-elections.
But Democrats were energized following their decisive victories in last month’s 2025 elections, and public opinion surveys suggested a close contest between Van Epps and Behn in a showdown that was seen as a key barometer ahead of next year’s midterm elections, when the GOP will be defending its majority.
With some votes still being counted, Van Epps was headed towards a nine-point victory.
WATCH: WHAT AFTYN BEHN TOLD FOX NEWS DIGITAL ON ELECTION EVE
Asked by Fox News Digital on Tuesday morning if he needed to win the election by a certain margin, Van Epps said, “a win is a win.”
But the military combat veteran and former commissioner of the Tennessee Department of General Services added that “we’re going to press as hard as we can to win by the biggest margin we can, and then we’re going to hold the majority in ’26.”
Behn, a state representative and former healthcare community organizer, who’s been dubbed the “AOC of Tennessee” in a comparison to progressive champion Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, said in her concession speech, “Although tonight is not the final result of what we wanted…it is the beginning of something so powerful in Tennessee and across the South.”
She delivered a similar message to supporters at a local Democratic Party office in Nashville on Tuesday morning.
“Whatever happens, win or lose, you’ve inspired a country. You’ve shown people the South has something to say,” Behn said.
“For me, we’ve already won over the hearts and minds of so many Tennesseans and across the country,” Behn told Fox News Digital minutes later when asked if she’s a winner even without an election victory. “What starts here changes this country.”
And she added, “I think the electorate is shifting to accept a candidate like me that has a progressive track record.”
Behn was laser focused during her campaign on two key issues, affordability and health care.
But National Republican Congressional Committee chair Rep. Richard Hudson, in congratulating Van Epps, emphasized that “Tennesseans know they can trust Van Epps to fight for their safety, security, and prosperity. No one is better positioned to take up the mantle and deliver results for Tennessee families, workers, and small business owners.”
Trump, whose endorsement of Van Epps helped the candidate win a crowded and competitive primary last month, took to social media to congratulate “Van Epps on his BIG Congressional WIN.”
“Another great night for the Republican Party!!!” the president said in his social media post.
And Van Epps, in his victory speech, said “Our victory was powered by a movement of Tennesseans that are ready for change. We are grateful to the President for his unwavering support that charted this movement and catapulted us to victory. President Trump was all-in with us. That made the difference. In Congress, I’ll be all-in with him.”
But Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin said in a statement, “What happened tonight in Tennessee makes it clear: Democrats are on offense and Republicans are on the ropes.”
“Aftyn Behn’s overperformance in this Trump +22 district is historic and a flashing warning sign for Republicans heading into the midterms,” Martin argued. “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. Democrats are all gas and no brakes as we head into next year, organizing everywhere and competing in elections across the country. ”
And House Majority PAC, the top super PAC supporting congressional Democrats, claimed, “Tonight’s results make it clear: No House Republican’s re-election should be considered safe next November.”
Asked about the Democrats’ comments, Van Epps told Fox News Digital after his Election Night speech that “we have the resounding victory. This is a victory for Republicans. It’s a victory for our district. It’s a victory for President Trump.”
“We are going to take this momentum forward, and we’re going to win in 2026,” he predicted.
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With so much on the line, outside groups aligned with both parties shelled out millions of dollars to run ads in the race. And the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and the rival Republican National Committee (RNC) each poured resources into the showdown, which included dispatching staffers onto the campaign trail.
House Speaker Mike Johnson spent the entire day on Election Eve with Van Epps, joining the GOP nominee at a slew of rallies and stops across the district. He was joined by RNC chair Joe Gruters.
“We’re going to win this seat, but we cannot take anything for granted,” Johnson said in an interview with Fox News Digital.
“Special elections are strange because a lot of people take for granted in a deep red district like this that the Republican is just going to win automatically. Nothing’s automatic. So we’re here to help turn out the vote and make sure we get this great candidate right over that line,” Johnson said.
Aiming to motivate low-propensity Trump supporters, who often don’t vote when the president’s not on the ballot, Johnson emphasized that “we need everybody to turn out.”
Before introducing Van Epps at Monday’s first rally, Johnson called Trump on his cell phone, and the president spoke to the crowd for over four minutes.
“Let’s make it a sweeping victory,” Trump said. “The whole world is watching Tennessee right now. And they’re watching your district. The whole world. It’s a big vote. It’s going to show something. It’s got to show that the Republican Party is stronger than it’s ever been.”
Trump joined Van Epps later in the day for an evening tele rally.
In another sign of the importance of holding the seat, Republican Gov. Bill Lee, GOP Sens. Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty, as well as Republican members of Congress from Tennessee, state GOP lawmakers and rival candidates who lost to Van Epps in last month’s primary, campaigned with him on Monday.
Behn also enjoyed last-minute support from high-profile surrogates.
Ocasio-Cortez; Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington state, who chaired the Congressional Progressive Caucus the past four years; Black Voters Matter Fund co-founder LaTosha Brown and former Vice President Al Gore, a Tennessee native, all spoke at an Election Eve virtual rally.
“The reason this race is competitive is because I have been at community gatherings, potlucks, funerals, weddings, with the voters in the seventh district, and they remember that,” Behn told Fox News Digital.
Behn faced repeated attacks that she’s out of step with voters in the district.
“She does not represent the values of Tennessee or of America. She is as far left as you can get. She’s a radical,” Van Epps claimed in his Fox News Digital interview. “We have to reject that ideology. And we’re going to do that tomorrow.”
Johnson argued on Monday that Behn was a “radical” and “a dangerous far leftist. And she will be a rubber stamp for Hakeem Jeffries and AOC and all the radicals in Congress.”
And Trump, repeating comments he made over the weekend on social media, charged that Behn “hates Christianity” and “hates country music.”
Trump was referring to past comments Behn made from a 2020 podcast.
“I hate the city, I hate the bachelorettes, I hate the pedal taverns, I hate country music, I hate all of the things that make Nashville apparently an ‘it’ city to the rest of the country. But I hate it,” she said in the podcast.
The district is solidly red, but includes parts of the Democratic stronghold of Nashville, Tennessee’s capital and its most populous city, and a major national center for the country music industry. The district encompasses parts of north and west Nashville, including the downtown area which has long been a very popular tourist destination.
Behn, in a CNN interview on Sunday, noted that she was a “private citizen” when she made the comments. “Nashville is my home. Do I roll my eyes at the bachelorette parties and the pedal taverns that are blocking my access to my house? Yeah. Every Nashvillian does. But this race has always been about something bigger. It’s about families across middle Tennessee that are getting crushed by rising prices.”
Republicans also took aim at Behn over an op-ed titled, “Tennessee is a racist state, and so is its legislature,” that appeared in a 2019 edition of The Tennessean newspaper.
The RNC, pointing in a recent social media post to the six-year-old opinion piece, asked, “If Behn hates Tennessee so much, why is she trying to represent it?”
Also resurfacing in recent weeks are anti-police comments Behn made on a now-deleted social media account.
“Clearly, I’m living rent-free in President Trump’s mind,” Behn told supporters on Monday.
And asked by Fox News Digital about the incoming verbal fire from Republicans, Behn joked, “I always love to hear from my fans.”
She touted that “I have a track record of showing up in the hard fights and small fights in between, not only as an organizer and as an activist, but as a legislator.”
And sticking to her key issue of tackling the high cost of living, Behn said she’s “running on a very simple message of addressing the affordability crisis that Tennesseans are facing, and they [Republicans] don’t have a remedy for it.
Fox News’ Asher Redd contributed to this story
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