Republican Matt Van Epps wins House special election in Tennessee

Republican Matt Van Epps, a former Army helicopter pilot, has won the special election for Tennessee’s 7th District, keeping the deep-red seat in party hands. But his relatively modest margin of victory Tuesday will likely fuel Democratic optimism heading into the 2026 midterms.

Van Epps was leading Democratic state Rep. Aftyn Behn 54 percent to 45 percent with 99 percent of votes counted, according to The Associated Press. He will serve the remaining term of Republican former Rep. Mark E. Green, who resigned in July to pursue private sector work.

Van Epps called his election “a defining moment for Tennessee and for the direction of the country,” and credited President Donald Trump’s support for pushing him over the finish line. 

“Running from Trump is how you lose,” he said in a campaign release. “Running with Trump is how you win.”

Republicans started the election as heavy favorites to hold a seat the president carried last fall by 22 points, according to calculations by Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales. The largely rural Middle Tennessee district, which includes parts of Nashville, was drawn by state Republicans to be safely red when they split up the Democratic-leaning city in the state’s most recent round of redistricting. 

But both parties ended up pouring millions into the race as polling pointed to a surprisingly close contest in the election’s closing stretch. 

Even before Tuesday, Democrats argued that by forcing Republicans to invest in the race, they’d proved that their party has the stronger political momentum for 2026, coming on the heels of sweeping victories in last month’s off-year elections in Virginia, New Jersey, New York and beyond. 

“What happened tonight in Tennessee makes it clear: Democrats are on offense and Republicans are on the ropes,” Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin said in a statement. “Aftyn Behn’s overperformance in this Trump +22 district is historic and a flashing warning sign for Republicans heading into the midterms.”

Tuesday’s outcome was the latest in a string of overperformances for Democrats in House special elections this year. Democratic candidates improved on their party’s margins from 2024 in four previous special elections, including for a pair of GOP-held seats in Florida, although Republicans ultimately retained both districts.

A political neophyte who spent a decade working in Tennessee state government, Van Epps, 42, strongly aligned himself with Trump during the campaign. He won a crowded Republican primary in October, buoyed by a late presidential endorsement and the backing of Green and House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan of Ohio and his PAC, the American Liberty Foundation. 

Trump took part in multiple tele-rallies in support of Van Epps, including on the eve of the election. 

“The whole world is watching Tennessee right now, and they’re watching the district,” Trump said via speakerphone at a Monday campaign event that also featured Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., Republican National Committee Chair Joe Gruters and members of Tennessee’s congressional delegation. The president also made multiple appeals on his Truth Social platform to boost GOP support for Van Epps. 

Republicans heavily attacked Behn, 36, a former organizer with the Tennessee chapter of the progressive group Indivisible, as a “radical.” They pointed to, among other things, her opposition to certain tax cuts and past comments signaling support for defunding the police. 

The big spenders on the GOP side included MAGA Inc., a pro-Trump super PAC, which spent $1.7 million on the race, while the political arm of the conservative Club for Growth spent $473,000. Conservatives for American Excellence Inc., which has ties to GOP megadonors Paul Singer and Ken Griffin, spent $767,000. 

Democratic groups that weighed in included House Majority PAC, which has ties to House Democratic leadership and announced a $1 million investment across television and digital platforms last month. Other groups such as Tennessee Rise PA, Planned Parenthood Votes and Indivisible Action also invested to support Behn. 

Behn and the Democratic groups focused their ads on affordability, an issue credited with helping Democratic candidates win key races across the country last month. Key party figures who campaigned with Behn included high-profile progressives such as Reps. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. 

Van Epps, who served in Gov. Bill Lee’s Cabinet as commissioner of the Tennessee Department of General Services, campaigned on a platform that largely mirrored Trump’s “America First” agenda, including his strict immigration stances. He frequently sought to praise Trump in media interviews and promised to buttress the administration’s policies in Congress.

“I think the American Dream starts with law and order, and so I fully support the president in his initiatives and efforts around immigration,” he said in an interview with Clarksville Now. 

A 2005 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Van Epps flew nine combat tours, and his military service is a key part of his identity. In Congress, he will join a growing cohort of members who joined the military in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks.

Once Van Epps is sworn in, the House Republican Caucus will be at full strength at 220 members. Two vacancies remain – Texas’ 18th District, which will elect a successor to the late Democratic Rep. Sylvester Turner in a Jan. 31 runoff, and New Jersey’s 11th District, which became open following last month’s resignation of Democratic Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill. A special election for the North Jersey seat is scheduled for April.

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