Topline
Republican Matt Van Epps, who President Donald Trump endorsed, won a special election on Tuesday for a House seat from Tennessee, beating out a stronger-than-expected Democratic challenge in a deep-red district that Trump won by 22 points.
Republican candidate Matt Van Epps speaks alongside his wife Meg at a watch party announcing victory in a special election for the U.S. seventh congressional district.
Copyright 2000 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
Key Facts
The Associated Press called the race for Van Epps at 9:37 p.m. ET, an hour and a half after polls closed.
With nearly all votes counted the Republican candidate had secured 53.9% of the vote, while Democratic challenger Aftyn Behn ended up with 45%.
Van Epps’ victory margin on nearly 9 points is significantly lower than the 21 point margin by which Republicans won the seat in the 2024 election and the 22 point margin by which Trump won the district.
The congressional district, a Republican stronghold won by President Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election, was previously represented by Rep. Mark Green, R-Tenn., who resigned in July.
Van Epps, a former state official, was endorsed by Trump in October shortly before winning the Republican primary and has received more than $1 million from the Trump-aligned super PAC known as MAGA Inc.
Behn is a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives who raised over $1 million from October to November and has also received $1 million from the House Majority PAC.
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Key Background
Tennessee’s special election comes off the heels of a string of Democratic wins in Virginia, New York and New Jersey elections. Behn echoed Democratic concerns around affordability ahead of the special election, opposing Trump’s sweeping tariff policies and economic agenda. Van Epps has also campaigned on affordability concerns, saying, “I’m excited to fight alongside the president and the speaker to drive down cost of living.” Van Epps also targeted a past comment from Behn, who called herself a “very radical person.” Behn defended her stance in an interview with CNN, saying, “I don’t think it’s radical to have spent my entire career organizing to make healthcare more affordable or groceries cheaper.”