TN-07: Van Epps (R) and Behn (D) Will Square Off in District 7 Congressional Election
Trump-backed Republican Matt Van Epps and Democratic State Rep. Aftyn Behn (D-Nashville) will face off in a race with national implications after winning their respective primaries on Tuesday. The two will meet in a special election on Dec. 2.
From the moment he launched his campaign, fewer than 24 hours after Rep. Mark Green announced his retirement, Van Epps was the heir apparent to the four-term Congressman. Green, who gave then-General Services Commissioner Van Epps a heads-up about the race, endorsed the fellow veteran early on, and Republican Gov. Bill Lee followed with a late endorsement of his own.
As the crowded 11-person Republican primary progressed, there was no clear frontrunner among Van Epps and state Representatives Gino Bulso, Jody Barrett, and Lee Reeves, who were each seen as viable candidates in a race with a projected turnout too low to poll.
Van Epps was gifted the ultimate edge in a race among Republicans arguing over who was the most MAGA when President Donald Trump unexpectedly endorsed him last Friday, though it was unclear how much that would give Van Epps a boost with thousands of votes already cast by the time the president weighed in. Ultimately, Van Epps won more than half of the total vote, dominating the other 10 Republicans in the race.
https://nashvillebanner.com/2025/10/07/matt-van-epps-aftyn-behn-special-election/
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