After Republican candidate Matt Van Epps defeated Democrat candidate Aftyn Behn in Tuesday’s special election race for Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District, both parties cheered the results.
Republicans touted a rejection of far-left radical policies and their ability to retain the GOP-held seat vacated by retired GOP Congressman Mark Green. Democrats, on the other hand, cheered the slim nature of Van Epps’ victory in a district President Donald Trump won by more than 20 points last year, as Green did in his last two elections.
Van Epps won Tuesday night by a nine-point margin.
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“Last night was the latest flashing red light, indicating that Americans are fed up with Republican policies, particularly how much they have to pay for the things they really need,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said after the race was called.
“A deep red Tennessee district that Trump won by 22 points, swung by double digits in Democrats’ direction.”
Progressive strategists and organizations described Behn’s campaign, despite her loss, as “amazing,” “well run” and “great,” noting she “gave Democrats in the South and across the country a reason to believe.”
After the results were called, President Trump touted Van Epps as a “fantastic” addition to Tennessee’s congressional delegation and called the win “BIG” for the GOP. The president pointed out that “Radical Left Democrats threw everything at him, including Millions of Dollars,” but Van Epps was still able to pull out a victory.
“Millions of dollars of dark money wasted,” longtime attorney and legal commentator Mark Pulliam noted. “Aftyn Behn discovered that Middle Tennessee will not elect lunatic leftists to Congress.”
Behn’s campaign was riddled with criticism about her history of radical activism, such as pushing to “dissolve” the Nashville police department and defending rioters and looters who took to the streets during the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020.
“I’m currently involved in a transformative justice seminar, and so it’s how to imagine a world without police and what that looks like and what community mechanisms look like,” Behn said during an interview with a local activist group prior to entering elected office.
A video of Behn being dragged out of Tennessee Republican Gov. Bill Lee’s office by police during an attempted sit-in and comments about how she “hate[s]” the city she hoped to represent in D.C., citing her distaste for Nashville’s country music scene and other elements that make Nashville a popular city, also haunted Behn during her run.
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CNN’s Manu Raju noted in an interview ahead of Tuesday’s election how, during her campaign, Behn was dubbed the “AOC of Tennessee.”
“Aftyn Behn (D) lost tonight’s special election in TN, but make no mistake: She’s the median Democrat, a lunatic radical progressive,” CNN conservative political commentator Scott Jennings said of Tuesday night’s election results. “I wouldn’t be surprised if Dems continue to run the most Cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs candidates they can find.”
Former Congressman David McIntosh, the co-founder of the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy and a member of FedSoc’s Board of Directors, said Jennings “nails it” in his post-election analysis.
“It wasn’t exactly a nail-biter, but 9 points is not a landslide,” The Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh pointed out. “It should have gone Republican by like 40 points yesterday. Looking at it objectively, that’s what should have happened when you consider who [Behn] is.”
However, despite the reservations permeating throughout the GOP following Tuesday’s election, Trump and other Republican leaders praised the victory.
Republican National Committee Co-Chair KC Crosbie, said Behn “way underperformed” Tuesday and said she is hopeful heading into the midterms.
“I’ve seen a lot of the spin that the Democrats have been trying to put on it today, but if you look at the 2025 special elections, I mean Democrats in 2025 overperformed by 18 points. [Behn] way underperformed last night, and it’s because their message is so far off,” Crosbie said.
“They are just bowing to the far-left, woke side of their party and people just aren’t buying into their message. … So, we feel really good going into the midterms.”
“Tennesseans voted in this resounding win to reject socialism, to reject the far-left radical ideology and to support common-sense conservatism,” Van Epps told Fox News following his election victory Tuesday. “We are so happy with our margin of victory, and I think it’s setting the tone for 2026. And we are going to win decisively there and hold the House.”
“Common sense prevails,” Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., added. “We had a great candidate in Matt Van Epps, and you can’t deny the Donald Trump effect.”
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson has indicated he hopes to swear in Van Epps as soon as this week after his special election win.
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