CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — After a competitive primary season filled with yard signs and political attack ads, Tennessee's 7th Congressional District now has its nominees for the special election to replace former Congressman Mark Green, who resigned earlier this year.
Republican voters overwhelmingly chose Matt Van Epps, while Democrats selected State Representative Aftyn Behn in a tighter race. I spoke to both winners following their primary victories to learn about their plans moving forward.
Stark political divide between nominees
Tuesday night's watch parties in Clarksville were just seven miles apart geographically, but the two nominees couldn't be further apart politically.
Van Epps, the Republican nominee, is an Army veteran-turned-businessman who most recently served as a member of Governor Bill Lee's cabinet. He also received an endorsement from President Trump.
"The people of Middle and West Tennessee stand with President Trump," Van Epps told the crowd.
Behn, the Democratic nominee, is a social worker who was recently elected to the Tennessee Legislature representing parts of Nashville.
"I think a lot of those voters are excited that there's a Democrat that is willing to challenge this administration and the Republican on the ticket," Behn said.
Healing party divisions after bitter primaries
After contentious primary battles, both candidates now face the challenge of unifying their respective parties before the December special election.
When asked about winning over the thousands of voters who didn't support him in the primary, Van Epps outlined his strategy:
"We're going to work to get everybody together. We're going to be traveling to all 14 counties again, and we're going to take our message forward. We're going to work with my opponents and bring them together on this team," Van Epps said.
Behn banks on youth turnout strategy
The 7th Congressional District leans conservative overall, meaning Behn may need to attract moderate voters to her campaign. However, she believes the district's demographics could work in her favor.
"There's a lot of young people in the district. It's one of the youngest congressional districts in the state," Behn said.
Behn told me she thinks mobilizing young voters, who typically don't participate in special elections, could help her become the first Democrat elected from this district since 1983.
"I do think this is a flippable seat and we win in December," Behn said.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which typically invests in competitive races, has not yet added Tennessee's 7th District to its list of races to financially support. If that changes, we'll be sure to pass that along.
Van Epps expressed confidence about maintaining Republican control of the seat.
"It was a resounding win, and we're going to have another resounding win on December 2nd," Van Epps said.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at Chris.Davis@NewsChannel5.com.
One of the best things about Tennessee is its beauty. Reporter, Chris Davis, certainly makes the most of it as an avid hunter and fisherman. When he turned the spotlight on the potential funding shortfall the TWRA is facing - it hit a nerve with many of our viewers. To find out more, make sure to watch this story.
- Carrie Sharp
