Tennessee voters make final call in House special election testing Trump's power

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — President Donald Trump and Republicans will try to bounce back from recent losses around the country when Tennessee voters choose the next representative for the reliably conservative 7th U.S. House Congressional District on Tuesday.

The special election, which was organized after Republican Rep. Mark Green resigned this summer, saw an unexpected surge of spending in recent weeks, flooding the airwaves and filling residents' mailboxes with campaign flyers.

Matt Van Epps, the Republican candidate, has been backed by more than $1 million from MAGA Inc. It's the first time the Trump-supporting super PAC has spent money on a campaign since last year's presidential race, a reflection of this contest's outsize importance. House Speaker Mike Johnson and GOP chair Joe Gruters rallied supporters in Tennessee on Monday. Trump addressed the crowd by phone and later held a tele-rally for Van Epps, his second of the general election.

Democrats recently won by wide margins in New Jersey, Virginia and elsewhere, and a strong showing in Tennessee could further embolden the party ahead of midterm elections next November.

The House Majority PAC has put $1 million behind state Rep. Aftyn Behn, the Democratic candidate. National party chair Ken Martin visited to campaign for Behn. Former Vice President Kamala Harris participated in a canvassing kickoff while in Nashville on a book tour. And former Vice President Al Gore, a Tennessee native, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez headlined a virtual rally on the election's eve.

The 7th District is one of three seats redrawn in 2022 to erode the influence of Nashville, the state’s largest city and a Democratic stronghold. Only about 1 in 5 of its registered voters are in Nashville, and last year it went to Green by 21 percentage points and to Trump by a similar margin.

Democrats say closing the gap would signal that their party has momentum going into next year. Republicans remain confident that they can defend the seat, and they hope to dismiss Democratic claims that even red districts are now in play as Trump struggles with low approval ratings and persistent economic dissatisfaction.

However there are concerns about turnout due to the timing, as early voting went into Thanksgiving week with Election Day the following Tuesday.

Trump held a virtual rally in November with Van Epps, a former state general services commissioner from Nashville who previously served as an Army helicopter pilot, to boost his candidacy.

Republicans have tried to turn Behn's own words against her in television advertising, such as when she described herself as a “radical” or claimed to be “bullying” immigration agents and state police officers. A frequent target are comments Behn made about Nashville years ago, when she said “I hate this city” and complained about bachelorette parties.

For the most part, Behn has answered questions about those remarks by redirecting to cost of living issues. But she has responded specifically about Nashville, saying she wants it “to be a place where working people can thrive” even if she gets annoyed at some tourist draws.

Behn, a self-proclaimed “pissed-off social worker,” has condemned Trump's tariffs and tax cut legislation, both of which Van Epps supports. She also has criticized Republicans’ reluctance to release files related to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Van Epps originally opposed a House vote to force the Justice Department to disclose more Epstein documents but changed his stance to mirror Trump after the president backed the measure.

Democratic allies sought to eat away at Van Epps' base by urging conservatives to back independent candidate Jon Thorp instead. That messaging came in mailers from Your Community PAC, which has spent more than $16 million supporting Democratic candidates across the country since last year.