Republican Matt Van Epps wins US House special election in Tennessee | House of Representatives

Republican Matt Van Epps defeated Democrat Aftyn Behn in a congressional special election in the western Nashville suburbs that are being closely watched for signs of Republican weakness in next year’s midterm congressional elections.

The Associated Press called the race at 9:47 a.m. EST with Van Epps leading 52% to 46%.

“This race was bigger than a single campaign,” Van Epps said in a statement. “It represented a defining moment in the direction of Tennessee and the country.”

Van Epps argued that his victory was a sign that conservative voters continue to support Donald Trump’s leadership. Trump virtually campaigned for Van Epps in the closing days of the race.

“Running from Trump, you lose. Running with Trump, you win,” Van Epps said. “Our victory was powered by a movement of Tennesseans ready for change. We are grateful to the President for his unwavering support, which masterminded this movement and carried us to victory. President Trump was with us. That’s what made the difference. I in Congress fully agree with him.”

Tennessee’s seventh congressional district is normally reliably Republican. Donald Trump put the region ahead by 15 points in 2020 and 22 points in 2024. But special elections can be unpredictable, and polls in recent days have placed Behn within a few points of Van Epps.

Richard Hudson, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, congratulated Van Epps in a statement, saying: “No one is better positioned to take on this task and deliver results to Tennessee families, workers and small business owners.”

The six-point margin of victory represents a significant shift in Republican support.

“Aftyn Behn’s overperformance in this Trump +22 district is historic and a blinking warning sign for Republicans heading into the midterm elections,” Democratic National Committee chairman Ken Martin said in a statement.

“Aftyn focused his campaign on reducing shopping, housing and health care costs for Tennessee families. His Republican opponent ran his campaign focusing on Donald Trump, and he had to be bailed out by a massive Republican spending blitz to barely hold on to this traditionally safe Republican seat.”

Cook’s Political Report describes this district as “weakly Republican”; This is a decline from reliable Republicans despite Trump’s performance. “Democrats’ inherent advantage in this year’s special election will make this race closer than it needs to be,” they wrote.

Van Epps and Behn were vying to replace Republican congressman Mark Green, who resigned in July — following the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act — to establish a firm to compete with Chinese business interests in Guyana. House Republicans have a 219-213 edge in the chamber.

Van Epps, a former army helicopter pilot and West Point graduate, defeated nine other Republican candidates, leveraging support from Trump, Green and Tennessee’s Republican governor, Bill Lee. Van Epps ran the Tennessee general services department under Lee.

Behn, who has represented the east Nashville district in the Tennessee House since 2023, won the closely contested four-way Democratic primary. A former political organizer and progressive activist, Behn has worked in social services and community advocacy.

After Democrats unexpectedly crushed elections in Virginia, New Jersey and elsewhere earlier this month, the party’s pro-Democratic groups poured money into Behn’s campaign in an attempt to dampen morale.

A national Democratic strategist who works on House races told the Guardian last week that Republicans had spent an unusually large amount of money in the district “in a desperate last-minute attempt to prevent an overperformance by the Democrats.”

“We still expect the Republicans to prevail, but we wouldn’t be surprised if it was a single-digit race,” Dave Wasserman, senior editor and election analyst at the Cook Political Report, told the Guardian alongside Amy Walter last week.

The region, which stretches from Kentucky to Alabama, is largely rural but also includes part of the blue-leaning Nashville and the city of Clarksville.

Chris Stein contributed reporting