1 hour ago

Republicans Narrowly Hang On In Tennessee Special Election

Combat veteran Matt Van Epps (right) defeated Democrat Aftyn Behn.

Republican Matt Van Epps narrowly hung on to a House seat in a Tennessee district President Donald Trump easily won one year ago, a warning about the GOP’s deteriorating political position and a disappointment to Democrats who had spent millions hoping to deliver a major psychic blow to the party in power.

Van Epps, a combat veteran, defeated liberal activist-turned-state lawmaker Aftyn Behn in a special election race that came to symbolize how bad things could get for the GOP in next year’s midterm elections as Trump’s popularity continues to suffer and voters rebel over a high cost of living. Trump won the seat by 22 percentage points in 2024, but internal polls for both parties consistently showed a much tighter contest.

Politics: Trump Launches Into Massive, Unhinged Late Night Posting Spree

The victory will also deliver a tiny amount of breathing room for House Speaker Mike Johnson and the razor-thin GOP House majority, which will stand at 220-213 after Van Epps is sworn in. Future special elections and the pending retirement of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene will almost certainly shrink the margin to 219-215 early next year.

The race saw massive voter participation for a special election held between Thanksgiving and Christmas, with turnout approaching levels typically seen in midterm elections, diluting Democrats’ typical advantage among high-propensity voters.

Many Democrats seemed happy to celebrate their moral victory.

“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. Democrats are all gas and no brakes as we head into next year, organizing everywhere and competing in elections across the country,” said Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin.

Politics: Trump Goes All Out In Rant Against Democratic Candidate, Claiming She Hates Christianity And Country Music

Trump endorsed and held rallies for Van Epps, a young combat veteran who Republicans and Democrats alike saw as a competent and scandal-free candidate. Democratic groups, including a super PAC controlled by allies of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, aired ads slamming him for supporting the unpopular GOP budget bill and opposing the release of the Epstein files.

“Van Epps wants three things: cuts to health care benefits, more tariffs driving up costs, tax breaks for billionaires,” a narrator says in an ad from HMP, the PAC controlled by Jeffries’ allies.

Democratic outside groups spent about $2.3 million on ads for the race, compared to $3.1 million from Republican groups, including MAGA, Inc., a super PAC controlled by Trump allies. That’s far less than what was spent on high-profile special elections during the 2018 midterm cycle when Trump was in office, when outside groups spent $13 million on a special election in western Pennsylvania.

The relative lack of spending reflects, in part, the size of the challenge facing Democrats. But it was also quietly an acknowledgment Behn was not seen as an ideal candidate for the district. As a liberal activist, she had a robust social media presence for the GOP to mine for attacks – including sarcastic comments bemoaning bachelorette parties in Nashville and harsh criticisms of Tennessee’s racist past.

Politics: James Carville Pinpoints What’s ‘Oozing Out’ Of Trump Right Now: ‘You Can Just Feel It’

“Aftyn Behn not only joined and praised ‘defund the police’ liberals, Aftyn Bhen bragged about harassing law enforcement,” a narrator said in an ad from Conservatives for American Excellence as images of Democratic Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.) and Ilhan Omar (Minn.) appeared onscreen. “If we don’t vote, they win,” the narrator also warns in the ad, as an image of Behn standing next to a drag queen appears onscreen.

At the same time, the race drew involvement from some of the biggest names in politics. Former Vice President Kamala Harris appeared at an event for Behn, and Ocasio-Cortez headlined her closing tele-rally. Trump and Johnson campaigned for Van Epps, though Trump declined to hold a public rally in the district.

“The whole world is watching Tennessee right now, and they’re watching the district,” Trump said on Monday.

The seat became open after the sudden retirement of Rep. Mark Green earlier this year.

Politics: Gavin Newsom Trolls Trump’s MRI Memo With His Own Merciless Mock Medical Report

Republicans will be heavily favored to hold the seat in November 2026.