Trump-backed Republican Matt Van Epps wins US House special election in Tennessee

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Republican Matt Van Epps won a nationwide special election in Tennessee on Tuesday for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, maintaining his party’s hold on the conservative district with help from President Donald Trump. But the relatively slim margin of victory fueled Democrats’ hopes for next year’s midterm elections, as the party seeks to return to power in Washington.

A military veteran and former state general services commissioner from Nashville, Van Epps defeated Democratic state Rep. Aftyn Behn to represent the 7th Congressional District.

With 99 percent of the votes counted, Van Epps’ lead was about 9 percentage points. The former Republican who held the seat won by 21 points last year, and Trump won the district by 22 points.

Behn, who has presented himself as an unapologetic progressive, ran up a huge margin in Davidson County, which is the most Democratic county in the district and home to Nashville. But Van Epps carried the rest of the district, including many deep red counties in middle Tennessee, as he tied himself closely to Trump.

“Politicians who flee the president or abandon the common-sense policies for which the American people have given us a resounding mandate do so at their peril,” Van Epps said during his victory party. “No matter what Washington insiders or the liberal media say, this is President Trump’s party. I’m proud to be a part of it and can’t wait to get to work.”

Trump congratulated Van Epps in a social media post, saying he won even though “radical left-wing Democrats threw everything at him.”

At her own campaign rally, Behn took the stage with a burst of energy, singing Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5” in a rhinestone Western-style suit. Despite his failure, Behn said the result was “the start of something” powerful.

She noted that Republicans redrew the district three years ago to make it harder for Democrats to win, and that “no one in Washington believed we could get this close.”

“Tonight is not the end. It is the beginning of a next chapter in Tennessee and American politics – one of possibility, one of power and one of progress for the people we love,” Behn said.

Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin said Republicans should be “trembling in their boots” ahead of the midterm elections, which will determine control of Congress.

“What happened tonight in Tennessee is clear: Democrats are on the attack and Republicans are on the ropes,” Martin said in a statement.

Van Epps benefited from nearly $1.7 million in spending from MAGA Inc., according to a memo from the Trump-aligned group, nearly half of which was spent on digital advertising targeting people streaming videos online. It was the first time the organization spent money on a campaign since last year’s presidential race, reflecting the outsized importance of this special election.

House Speaker Mike Johnson and Republican National Chairman Joe Gruters rallied supporters in Tennessee on Monday. Trump spoke by telephone to the crowd at a rally in the state and later in the day held a tele-rally for Van Epps, his second in the general election.

Chip Saltsman, a political strategist and former chairman of the Tennessee state party, said Republicans were slow to organize after a competitive primary.

“In Tennessee, it’s been a long time since we thought about beating the Democrats,” Saltsman said. “It was much more important to beat the Republicans in a primary.”

“This time,” he added, “we had to be careful. »

Republican leaders were hoping for a convincing victory to derail Democratic claims that even red districts are now in play as Trump struggles with low approval ratings and lingering economic discontent. Additionally, Democrats recently won by large margins in New Jersey, Virginia and elsewhere.

Behn had his own national support, and the House majority PAC gave him $1 million. Party Chairman Ken Martin visited to campaign for Behn, and former Vice President Kamala Harris participated in a canvassing launch while she was in Nashville on a book tour. Former Vice President Al Gore and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez headlined a virtual rally for her Monday evening.

Republican state lawmakers redrew the 7th District and two others in 2022 to prevent liberal-voting Nashville from electing another Democrat to Congress. Only about 1 in 5 voters in the district, which spans 14 counties, are in the city.

The seat was vacated when former Republican Rep. Mark Green retired this summer. The one-race election came at a strange time for voting, with early voting ending the day before Thanksgiving and Election Day the following Tuesday.

Van Epps aligned himself as closely as possible with the president, telling him during the November tele-rally: “I will support you 100 percent.” He won a crowded October primary by a wide margin with late support from Trump.

Behn has focused her campaign on fiery critiques of economic policies that she says prioritize wealthy people and corporations, including tariffs and Trump’s Budget and Spending Act, both of which Van Epps supports.

But Republicans have created a constant drumbeat of Behn’s own words used against her in the television ad, such as when she describes herself as a “radical” and makes harsh remarks about Nashville and its tourist attractions.

Anthony Bordonaro, 37, a Trump supporter, said Tuesday he wants the president’s policies to move forward, but pointed to those anti-Nashville comments as additional motivation to vote for Van Epps.

“I just didn’t really like what I was hearing about the other candidate not liking Nashville,” he said.

___

Associated Press writers Travis Loller in Nashville and Meg Kinnard in Columbia, South Carolina, contributed.