This combination image shows Eften Behn, left, November 13, 2025, in Nashville, Tennessee, and Matt Van Eps, left, November 12, 2025, in Nashville, Tennessee.
George Walker IV/AP
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George Walker IV/AP
The congressional special election in Tennessee has become the latest battleground for Democrats and Republicans looking to craft a winning message ahead of the 2026 midterms.
Historically, Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District is a fairly conservative district that gave nearly 60% of the vote for President Trump last November. Former Rep. Mark Green, who resigned in July, won by the same margin.
But in recent history, Democrats have outperformed their 2024 margin in special elections this year by an average of 13% and are coming off a series of high-profile victories in races up and down the polls last month.
That dynamic means the race between Republican former state Department of General Services Commissioner Matt Van Eps and Democratic state Representative Aftin Behn has captured national attention in the final weeks of the campaign.
In the final round, money floods out
Outside groups have spent more than $6.5 million on the race, according to the latest Federal Election Commission data, including more than $1.6 million from the pro-Trump MAGA Inc. super PAC. Two-thirds of total super PAC spending has come in the last two weeks of the race as early voting ramps up.
Low public turnout in a typically low-turnout special election, coupled with a less reliable understanding of who will turn out to be voters, has increased the pressure on both parties to squeeze out every vote in a tight race.
An Emerson College poll released last week found Van Eps slightly ahead of Behn, but the margin of error among voters polled was small. Polls released by Democratic-aligned firms in October showed Van Epps with an 8-point advantage, roughly in line with this year’s better performance than the average Democratic special election.
Campaigns focus on cost of living
In the closing stages of the race many surrogates stopped the campaign to support the candidates and made virtual appearances. Former Vice President Kamala Harris and Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin attended campaign events for Behn last month, while former Vice President Al Gore and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez chaired a Zoom rally on Monday evening.
House Speaker Mike Johnson held a get-out-the-vote rally Monday morning for Van Epps, with Trump on speakerphone declaring that “the whole world is watching Tennessee right now.”
Both parties are making affordability a top issue in the race, especially on the airwaves. Van Eps accepted Trump’s endorsement, focusing his closing message on the economy.
In an ad, Van Eps denounced “career politicians” and promised to “lower prices, create good-paying jobs, and lower health care costs for working families.”
Behn’s closing ad promised that she would shake up Washington “by making health care more affordable, lowering the cost of living, and protecting workers and small businesses from job-killing tariffs.”
During a telephone rally Monday evening for Van Epps, Trump dismissed the affordability issue as a way for Democrats to mention it as a distraction from what he said were his administration’s many accomplishments.
“They love to talk about affordability,” Trump said at a Monday evening tele-rally for Van Epps. “To them it’s just a fraud, it’s just a word.”
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