NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Republican Matt Van Epps won Tennessee's 7th Congressional District special election Tuesday night, defeating Democrat Aftyn Behn by 9 percentage points in a race that drew national media attention to Nashville.
While Van Epps secured victory in the Republican-designed district, his margin was notably smaller than typical GOP wins in the area. President Donald Trump carried the same district by 22 points just last year, making Van Epps' victory a closer contest than many expected. "What a night, what a night," Van Epps said Tuesday evening. "It's a resounding win and I'm really excited about it."
The congressman-elect expressed confidence about future elections, saying the campaign would "take this momentum forward and we're going to win in 2026, we're going to hold the House and have more resounding victories."
Behn, despite her loss, viewed the results as progress for Democratic candidates in the South. "I think it opens a door for candidates like me to win, to run and win in the South," Behn said.
The Democrat performed better than expected in early voting but struggled with Election Day voters, according to election observers.
Political analyst Pat Nolan, who followed the race closely, said both parties could find reasons for optimism in the results. "[Republicans] did still win, that's to their credit, and to their relief I'm sure, but they may need to do more than that between now and next November to make sure they're in better shape to do it," Nolan said.
For Democrats, Nolan questioned whether Behn's performance would translate to future success. "Somebody turned those votes out in Nashville, somebody turned those votes out in Montgomery County," said Nolan. "That may be some reason to be encouraged about that, although it's hard to get beat and work as hard as they did and not get anything to show out of it."
The analyst also cautioned against reading too much into the special election results for the 2026 midterms. "Special elections are always kind of weird. Especially an election where the general election is being held the Tuesday after Thanksgiving," Nolan said.
Van Epps told me his top priority once sworn into Congress will be standing with Trump and the Republican majority. He also plans to focus on tackling affordability issues and providing more resources to Fort Campbell.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at Chris.Davis@NewsChannel5.com.
This is a story I immediately went home and showed my boys - young athletes with big dreams. The Vanderbilt football team's success has stolen the spotlight - what I love about Steve Layman's story is he reveals the individual hardships it took to get there. As Clark Lea says, "we all have scuff marks." This team proves perseverance pays off!
- Carrie Sharp
