Republicans Hold House Seat in Tennessee Special Election
Republicans keep their slim majority.
Tennessee progressive Democratic state Rep. Aftyn Behn and Republican Matt Van Epps, a combat veteran and former commissioner of General Services, squared off to replace retiring Republican Rep. Mark Green in the 7th District.
The left and media hyped up Behn, but….Epps came out on top.
Democrats have been trying to share the win, declaring Behn “dramatically” over performed in a Republican safe district:
“What happened tonight in Tennessee makes it clear: Democrats are on offense and Republicans are on the ropes,” DNC Chair Ken Martin said. “Aftyn Behn’s overperformance in this Trump +22 district is historic and a flashing warning sign for Republicans heading into the midterms.”
“Aftyn centered her campaign on lowering grocery, housing, and health care costs for Tennessee families. Her Republican opponent ran his campaign focused on Donald Trump, and he had to get bailed out by a massive Republican spending onslaught to barely hold this traditionally safe Republican seat,” Martin said.
“The fact that Republicans spent millions to protect this Trump +22 district and still lost so much ground should have the GOP shaking in their boots,” Martin said. “Democrats are all gas and no brakes as we head into next year, organizing everywhere and competing in elections across the country.”
Okay, Martin isn’t totally wrong. The Republicans need to work harder and prop up the best candidates for the district and state.
It cannot be TRUMP TRUMP TRUMP. A moderate Republican would work better in some districts more than someone who aligns perfectly with Trump.
Who knows what the 2026 midterms will hold.
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Comments
This is good news indeed! Democrats had gone in hard on this one, coupled with their media and some convenient last minute polls to keep Republicans at home and it turned out to not even be close in the end.
But you know Democrats, you just keep running these crazies and see how things turn out!
On a serious note, I think once again we’ve been reminded to ignore polls!
Without the last-minute GOP turnout campaign she would have won.
Ok, remind me, is TN big on early voting, mail in ballots? If so, they better look hard at that and shore up their ballot integrity. The real “blue wave” coming in 2026 cheats.
Why would that poll have kept Republicans home? On the contrary, it’s likely what stirred lazy Republicans to get off their rear ends and vote, and thus averted the disaster. If I were the Democrat in that race I would have wanted the poll kept secret.
The Dems dumped a LOT of money in a losing cause, trying to keep the VA and NJ narrative rolling. Money the DNC had to take a loan out for
Amen. Start focusing on the miderms NOW.
“Okay, Martin isn’t totally wrong. The Republicans need to work harder and prop up the best candidates for the district and state.
It cannot be TRUMP TRUMP TRUMP. A moderate Republican would work better in some districts more than someone who aligns perfectly with Trump.”
Why oh why would someone want to align with Trump in a…checks notes…Trump +22 district? That would be silly.
MY THOUGHTS EXACTLY!!!
What a not well thought out comment!!
We don’t need anymore RINOS!
It’s like moderate Dems or even better
MODERATE MUSLIMS
THERE ARENT ANY !!
I can’t speak for the Nashville area as there are a lot of libtards going there. The rest of TN is getting redder. By redder I mean pray before every meal kind of redder.
TN schools are pretty good on being non political (especially compared to the places transplants are from). I know transplants that still home school because public schools here are too liberal for them. One pulled her kid out because the teacher allowed a kid to remain seated during the pledge of allegience. TN transplants for the most part are NOT liberal.
99% of the transplants are hard core conservatives who were pissed off enough to endure considerable economic costs to get to a sane place to live. We aint effing around with luke warm RINOs.
White women go crazy for the Behn type.
Beware
Apparently not crazy enough to get this crazy across the line!
And, of course she like
the governors of Oregon and Massachusetts is a full on militant lesbian.
She is living with her girlfriend and helping her raise her trans son.
Funny, how the press had a hard blackout on this. I thought they adored this stuff.
Keep in mind that the first filter for the American media is, “What has to be suppressed to protect the Left?”.
Subotai Bahadur
If the GOP had remained asleep she would have won. Low turnout special elections are an opportunity to elect your radicals, as long as the other side is napping.
Mama bear theory. One can’t counter all crazy. But one can try and keep crazy from cheating.
Her vocal fry is the envy of every AWFL.
Yes it’s 99% white cat crazy , sexually deviant women. And old crazy 60’s hippie scum
Speaking as a old hippie scum
uhh – that’s the district with Nashville aka libtard central.
You’d have to go to Memphis to get LESS red than that.
Exactly
Also 54::45 is close?
If that’s close, then Washington State is on the verge of flipping Seattle.
In a sane political world, an 8.9% margin of victory would be considered a curb stomp complete with complimentary public approval for the victor to spit in the eye of the vanquished.
In a sane world, oppo research unearthed a video of the democrat candidate spewing hate against the largest city in that district, Nashville. She hates its people, music, history. She hates it.
Yet, according to the Tenn. SoS office, over 70% of Nashville’s voters voted for that hateful democrat. That’s insane.
The red rural voters pulled the Republican victor’s bisquits out of the fire.
“Democrats are on offense and Republicans are on the ropes,” DNC Chair Ken Martin said.”
Agreed. Democrats are offensive, and many voters, like those who elected a death wish democrat to the AG office in Virginia, don’t care.
The dems publicly say they hate you, and even wish you dead, and people still vote for them.
That’s insane. We are at war. Prepare accordingly.
From 22% to 8% is a very strong warning about the midterms and yes Democrats overperformed
“It’s the Economy Stupid”-As true today as it was in the 1990s
We have LOST manufacturing jobs since 2024 and it is something we could reverse in a matter of hours. The Trump Tariffs have hurt the economy. Trump avoiding them having a full impact by limiting some of them and trying to deregulate to offset prices elsewhere doesn’t change things because prices are still r
Actually you do not have to take my word for it I will ask Chat GPT for an answer about groceries
Me
“have grocery prices gone up, gone down, or remained roughly the same since Trump started his second term?”
Chat GPT
“Grocery prices have generally increased since President Donald Trump began his second term in January 2025, despite his campaign promises to lower them. National data shows that the overall cost of food at home has risen, with the all-food Consumer Price Index (CPI) increasing 3% year-over-year as of mid-2025.
Between January and September 2025, grocery prices were 2.7% higher, and consumer prices overall rose 3% from the previous year.
Monthly tracking indicates that food prices have ticked up between 0.2% and 0.4% almost every month since January, with only one recorded decrease—in April 2025, when prices fell by 0.1%.
The USDA Economic Research Service projected that food prices would rise 2.9% in 2025 and continue increasing into 2026.
While some individual items have seen price decreases—such as eggs, which dropped 29.6% from January to September 2025, and bread and butter, which saw modest declines—other staples have risen significantly.
For example, ground beef increased 14%, coffee rose 30.2%, and chicken breast went up 5.1% over the same period.
At the store level, one analysis found a grocery basket costing $57.29 on Inauguration Day rose to $60.39 by day 100, a 5.5% increase.
Economists note that factors such as tariffs, supply chain issues, weather, and disease outbreaks (like bird flu affecting egg supplies) continue to influence food prices.
While President Trump has claimed that grocery prices have fallen significantly since he took office, federal data and multiple independent trackers contradict this, showing a pattern of continued inflation in the grocery sector.”
Me
Would you mind showing how you came to that conclusion
Chat GPT
“I based my conclusion on data from official U.S. government sources and reputable news outlets reporting on federal statistics:
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) track the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for food, which shows grocery prices (food at home) increased 2.7% from September 2024 to September 2025, and were 1.4% higher in September 2025 than in January 2025—the start of Trump’s second term.
Monthly data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED) confirms the CPI for food at home rose from 312.659 in July 2025 to 315.489 in September 2025, indicating ongoing increases.
Reports from CNN, CBS News, and PolitiFact fact-check Trump’s claims that grocery prices have fallen, showing instead that prices for most categories—including beef, coffee, bananas, and cereals—have risen, driven in part by tariffs and labor policies.
The USDA ERS projected in September 2025 that food-at-home prices would rise 2.4% for the full year, consistent with observed trends.
These sources collectively confirm that grocery prices have risen since January 2025, contradicting claims of overall price declines.”
AGAIN IT’S THE ECONOMY STUPID
The voters do not give a dam if the economy is bad they are unhappy with the party in power.
The only question is would you rather have them switch party in 2028 or if you would like to listen to them and demand an end to the tariffs.
The tariffs were a horrible idea and implementation of them has impacted the economy. A less bad impact is still bad, and the result is the opposite of what people voted for.
It was a.special election which means decreased turnout compared to presidential election cycle. This makes organized turnout operations more important. The d/prog have a structural advantage here; private sector unions but especially public sector unions, some politically ideological church running turnout all sorts of.things. Generally speaking the average center/right voter isn’t nearly so inclined to ‘join’ as d/prog are. It’s a difference in worldview in emphasis on individual v group identity and rights. IMO the.d/prog effort to nationalize the election helped boost their performance but not enough to win.
This special election had about the same total turnout as the 2022 Midterm at about 180k total. The margins were smaller. In ’22 the GoP won 108k to 69k d/prog while yesterday’s margin was 97k GoP to 81k d/prog. It would be interesting to use this as the baseline and apply the % changes in vote shift of total to other CD as a proxy for a ‘worst case’ midterm result. Obviously it won’t be the same but it would help ID which CD need more attention and effort. Better to be prepared and more organized in those CD to withstand the midterm TDS onslaught.
Low turnout elections are an opportunity for organized opposition to steal a seat. If you look at the total vote numbers, turnout in all TN districts is mediocre – even in Presidential years. All congressional districts have about 750K people, more or less (single district states are an exception). Last year TN districts don’t even crack the 350K turnout mark, while VA districts are mostly above 400K and some >450K. If you want to see where the really low turnout is, look to NYC. The congressional districts there are mostly around 200K or less last year. That is pitiful ! I don’t know how much of that is due to complacency in districts the same party always wins, and how much is foreigners who can’t vote, but there might be some opportunities for the GOP in NYC if they can get some serious organization.
omg. Mary. ‘Moderate republican would work better in some.’.. ? Aside from the fact that traditional conservatism Is the moderate position, you never sell out or become more statist to be elected. You stake your principled position then let the crowd follow you, Maggie Thatcher had some great quotes re this subject.
But these wannabe pols Need an actual ground game and engagement; can’t assume just because the other guy is more of a public nutjob or marxist that is sufficient
Well, if you don’t want to win elections then you stick solely to your base. Independents are a third of the voters in this country, and I expect moderates about the same.
Have we not learned that radical far right candidates typically don’t get elected unless it’s a heavily red district or state?
But not only candidates, Republicans need coherent messaging that will appeal to swing, moderate voters. Trump had that last year, and we need lots of it next year.
I want to win a lot more than I want ideological purity.
If we lose the House, there will be an impeachment of the month — is that what you want?
So what was the vote totals compared to 2024? Was turnout significantly less?
Yes. Last year TN-07 had about 320K voters, which is in itself mediocre for a presidential year. Special elections are always less, particularly one held on the Tuesday after the biggest travel holiday of the year.
There were 145K fewer votes than last year for the same district.
“Aftyn centered her campaign on lowering grocery, housing, and health care costs for Tennessee families.[…]”
Just once, I would like to see a candidate who makes a such claim as to what they will do if elected give us a detailed plan as to what they will do to make it happen. The reality is that one member of a legislative body can do any of those things. Even a like minded majority cannot tell a builder what to charge for a home, Raley’s what to charge for groceries, or a hospital what to charge for treatment.
But they cannot stop making unfulfillable promises. The voters know this, but still they vote for them. I think it was Churchill who opined that one’s belief in democracy cannot survive a ten minute conversation with the average voter.
#$%%#! Should be –.”… CANNOT do any of those things…”
Another vote for “edit” function here.
Davidson County/Nashville voted for Harris in 2024, by a margin of 27% over Trump. In this election, they voted for Behn by a 21% margin.
TN-7 is a +10 R district; Van Epps got +9 of the total vote.
Even the internal Donk polls had Van Epps up by 8. This was a media-driven hopeful (D) upset.