The last congressional special election of 2025 has been decided, with Decision Desk HQ calling the race in Tennessee's 7th Congressional District for Republican Matt Van Epps. With 71 percent of the vote reported, Van Epps garnered 53.3 percent of the vote to Democrat Aftyn Behn's 45.6 percent. The winner will now serve out the rest of former Rep. Mark Green's term; Green, a Republican, retired earlier in 2025 to take a job in the private sector.
Decision Desk HQ projects Matt Van Epps to win the US House special election in Tennessee's 7th congressional district.#DecisionMade: 9:06 pm ET pic.twitter.com/Uud1B74sKx
— Decision Desk HQ (@DecisionDeskHQ) December 3, 2025
Van Epps, a retired U.S. Marine and former commissioner of the Tennessee Department of General Services, went into Tuesday's general election with a sense of confidence, telling the media, "We were up in early voting, and we're just going to keep pressing forward to win today."
Behn is a sitting state representative who has earned the nickname "The AOC of Tennessee" for her support of far-left policies. She, too, started Tuesday with an air of confidence. "For me, we've already won over the hearts and minds of so many Tennesseans and across the country," she remarked. "What starts here changes this country." Behn added, "I think the electorate is shifting to accept a candidate like me that has a progressive track record."
READ MORE: Right Now Would Be a Good Time for the GOP to Hit the Panic Button on TN-07
The race between Van Epps and Behn was a surprising nail-biter for a reliably red district that voted for Donald Trump by +22 just last year. Polling done towards the end of November 2024 showed Van Epps with only a 10-point lead over Behn, even after an old interview surfaced in which Behn spoke of her hatred for Nashville, a part of which is in TN-07, and its country music culture.
Emerson poll | 11/22-11/24 LV
— Politics & Poll Tracker 📡 (@PollTracker2024) November 26, 2025
Tennessee’s 7th congressional special election (Trump +22)
(Leaners pushed)
🟥Matt Van Epps 49.4%
🟦Aftyn Behn 47.0%
Others 3.5%https://t.co/o2cJWKhfXZ
The Emerson poll, as previously reported by RedState, also revealed which issues were motiving the district's voters in 2025.
As for the issues motiving TN-07 voters, the economy is at the top with 38 percent, followed by housing affordability at 15 percent, healthcare at 13 percent, threats to democracy also at 13 percent, immigration at 6 percent, and crime and education each at 5 percent. Republicans would do well to take notice of how much the economy is driving recent elections.
On Monday, President Trump participated in a tele-rally to help Van Epps' get-out-the-vote efforts, telling the crowd, "Let's make it a sweeping victory. The whole world is watching Tennessee right now. And they're watching your district. The whole world. It’s a big vote. It’s going to show something. It's got to show that the Republican Party is stronger than it's ever been."
Behn also held an election eve tele-rally, which featured a who's-who of progressive stars (AOC) and has-beens (they trotted out Al Gore). AOC told Behn's supporters, "The very fact that we are here today and this race is so tremendously tight is a testament to how the American people are feeling at this moment. I genuinely believe that we are at a time when people are increasingly recognizing that our fights are not left and right, but they are top and bottom. They are about all of us as working Americans."
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