Matt Van Epps has defeated Democrat Aftyn Behn in a nationally watched Tennessee election that helped Republicans keep their majority in the United States House of Representatives.
Van Epps — a West Point graduate who served as a Lt. Col. in the Tennessee Army National Guard before being appointed as commissioner of the Tennessee Department of General Services and serving in the governor's office — won the special election for Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District on Tuesday, earning 53.9% of the vote compared to Behn’s 45%. Other candidates got less than 1% each, CNN reported.
Van Epps addressed supporters in Nashville, calling his election victory "an incredible win" in which voters "sent a message loud and clear" that "the people of middle Tennessee stand with President Donald J. Trump."
"I am humbled beyond belief to stand before you tonight as your next representative," he added. "I will never forget the trust placed in me. ... I want to thank God for His guidance and grace every step of the way."
“Tonight, we did something everyone counted out. We proved to a nation that states like Tennessee are still worth fighting for,” tweeted Aftyn Behn for Congress following her loss. “The margin was close, and that can only be attributed to the thousands of volunteers who showed out. This is just the beginning.”
Though Van Epps was successful, many Republicans expressed concern over the result, as President Donald Trump had carried the district by 22 points in the 2024 election.
“I’m glad we won. But the GOP should not ignore the Virginia, New Jersey and Tennessee elections,” said Republican Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska, Politico reported. “We must reach swing voters. America wants some normalcy.”
An unnamed Republican member of the House told Politico that Tuesday’s results indicated that the 2026 congressional midterms are “going to be a bitch of an election cycle.”
“Republicans can survive if we play team and the Trump administration officials play smart. Neither is certain,” the member of Congress added.
Read: 4 Aftyn Behn controversies: ‘Uncomfortable’ with Christianity, drag shows and anti-Nashville remarks
A state lawmaker and community organizer, Behn launched a campaign to flip the 7th district after the seat was made vacant by the resignation of Republican Rep. Mark Green.
A survey conducted by Emerson College Polling/The Hill on Nov. 22-24 showed 48% of voters backed Van Epps, while 46% supported Behn. This was a surprisingly close margin given that the district strongly leans Republican.
Shortly before the special election, Trump publicly endorsed Van Epps in a message posted to his social media platform Truth Social, calling Van Epps “one of the best Candidates we’ve ever had.”
“Matt is fighting against a woman who hates Christianity, will take away your guns, wants Open Borders, Transgender for everybody, men in women’s sports, and openly disdains Country music. She said all of these things precisely, and without question — IT’S ON TAPE!” Trump stated.
Trump was referencing comments that Behn made on the “Red State Blue Moon” podcast back in June 2024, in which she expressed discomfort over the presence of Christianity in state government.
“I think, especially as someone who is more secular, I have a hard time when religion is at the core of everything we do in the legislature. For example, on the House floor, we say a prayer at the beginning of each session,” she said at the time.
“Some committees open up with prayer, we also stand for the pledge. And there are also prayer groups in the legislature who meet routinely. There are Christian pastors that have a lot of say and proximity to power in the legislature and dictate a lot of what the power players do. And it is uncomfortable, and I think it makes a lot of my constituents who represent a diversity of religion deeply uncomfortable.”
For her part, Behn recently told Newsweek that Trump weighed in on her remarks “because he doesn’t have a plan to address the rising cost of health care and to ensure that working Tennesseans are able to afford health care, groceries and utilities.”
