Democrat Aftyn Behn is waging a competitive campaign against Republican Matt Van Epps in the December 2, 2025 special election for Tennessee's 7th Congressional District. The seat, long held by Republicans and vacated by former Congressman Mark Green, has drawn unusual national attention as recent polling shows a narrow race and both parties test messages on affordability and national politics.
Tennessee's 7th Congressional District, which includes suburban and rural communities in central and western Tennessee and parts of Nashville's Davidson County, has voted Republican for years and has increasingly favored Donald Trump. According to The Nation, Trump won the district by 17 points in 2016, 15 points in 2020 and 22 points in 2024.
The special election follows Republican Mark Green's resignation from Congress earlier this year to take a private‑sector job, a vacancy that national Democrats hope to exploit after strong showings in recent off‑year elections in states such as New Jersey, Virginia and Pennsylvania, The Nation reports.
Aftyn Behn, 36, is a Democratic state representative from Nashville and a former community organizer. She represents a multiracial, heavily Democratic section of Nashville that is now partly within the 7th District and describes herself as one of the Tennessee House's most progressive members, according to The Nation. In that interview, Behn said she had "the highest total voter turnout of any Democratic state representative in the 2024 cycle" and argued that her campaign is powered by economic frustrations, the high cost of living and concerns over health care access.
Behn has framed her campaign as a vehicle for voters angry over rising prices and political gridlock. In her interview with The Nation, she said that, amid “all the chaos of Washington,” voters are asking why they would "send another Republican" into "a government, a system, which they broke." She described building "a coalition of the disenchanted, a coalition of the pissed off," particularly around issues like grocery costs and the future of Affordable Care Act subsidies. Behn told The Nation she received an email from a lifelong Republican in Clarksville whose family relies on ACA subsidies and who pledged to vote for her if she committed to protecting them; she said she assured the voter she would, citing what she called a track record of fighting for the law's solvency.
Her Republican opponent, Matt Van Epps, is a Trump‑aligned candidate and frequent Fox News guest, characterized by The Nation as a "corporate Republican" and party insider. The Daily Wire reports that Van Epps has been endorsed by former President Trump. In a social media post highlighted by The Daily Wire, Trump urged voters, "I am asking all America First Patriots in Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District ... to please GET OUT AND VOTE for MAGA Warrior Matt Van Epps," calling Van Epps a candidate with his "Complete and Total Endorsement."
New polling suggests a competitive contest. The Nation reports that an Emerson College survey released on November 26 shows Behn at 46 percent and Van Epps at 48 percent, with at least 5 percent of voters undecided, placing the race within the poll’s margin of error. The same article notes that The Cook Political Report shifted its rating of the contest from "Solid Republican" to "Lean Republican." Democratic officials and activists cited by The Nation say early voting and primary‑season turnout signal surging Democratic enthusiasm, especially in the Nashville portion of the district, though Republicans are also working to mobilize their voters.
Behn’s record and past statements have drawn scrutiny from conservatives. The Daily Wire reports that in an August 2024 Tennessean article, Behn described herself as "a legislator who believes in prison abolition" and said she is "committed to addressing the root causes of crime rather than implementing punitive measures that often perpetuate a cycle of harm." The same Daily Wire story highlights a now‑deleted Juneteenth social media post archived by the Wayback Machine in which Behn wrote, "we need less white folks posting Canva graphics and more adopting prison abolition as a political foundation," and a 2020 post in which she praised polling showing that a majority in one survey believed burning down a police station could be justified.
According to the Daily Wire’s account of Tennessee House proceedings, Behn was among a small group of lawmakers who voted against legislation imposing the death penalty for those convicted of raping a minor in April 2024. The outlet reports that during debate on the bill she argued that "the state intervening to kill a human being does nothing to deter the crime" and raised concerns that such a penalty could discourage victims from reporting abuse.
Behn has nonetheless attracted support from prominent national Democrats. The Daily Wire notes that she has been backed by Vice President Kamala Harris and Representative Jasmine Crockett, and national Democratic organizations, including House Majority PAC and the Democratic National Committee, have invested significant money and organizing resources to boost her chances, according to separate reporting by outlets such as Politico and the DNC.
Voters interviewed by national outlets, including The Nation and NPR, have frequently pointed to affordability, housing costs, inflation and job security as key issues in the contest. A recent NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll, cited by NPR, found that close to six in ten Americans nationally prioritized lowering prices as a top concern, while Trump’s job‑approval rating in that survey stood below 40 percent. Democratic strategists quoted by NPR and other outlets argue that frustration over the cost of living and health care has given their party an opening even in districts like Tennessee’s 7th that strongly backed Trump in 2024.
Republicans, for their part, have sought to portray Behn as too far left for the district and have highlighted her past comments on prisons and policing in attack ads and conservative media coverage. GOP‑aligned groups have also invested heavily in the race to defend the seat, signaling that both parties see the outcome as an important test of voter sentiment heading into the 2026 midterm cycle.