Tennessee Democrat upstart state Rep. Aftyn Behn ended up making it closer than expected, but not close enough, in Tennessee’s special election on Tuesday.
With over 95 percent of the votes in, the Associated Press reported late Tuesday night that Republican candidate Matt Van Epps — endorsed by President Donald Trump, who warned that Behn “hates” both “Christianity and Country Music” — was the declared winner in the race to replace retired former Rep. Mark Green, leading by almost nine points around midnight Eastern, 53.9 percent to 45.0 percent.
While this was significantly closer than the 22 points by which Trump carried the district in November 2024, it was also a significantly bigger win than polls suggested it might be — especially for an off-year special election, where the party not in power tends to do better than usual.
Surveys taken in the closing weeks of the campaign indicated that Behn was within the margin of error. A late push by Republicans — House Speaker Mike Johnson traveled to the district on Monday, the Daily Wire noted — and an influx of money from GOP-aligned super PACs helped push Van Epps over the top.
“Tonight you’ve sent a message loud and clear: The people of Middle Tennessee stand with President Donald J. Trump,” Van Epps said during his victory speech, according to The New York Times.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, meanwhile, gave some credit to the president for his endorsement in a speech before Van Epps took the podium. While Trump didn’t visit, he made sure voters in the district were aware of the stakes of the election.
“We owe him a debt of gratitude,” Lee said regarding the president’s endorsement.
The Republicans had a bit of an assist from Behn herself via a raft of old clips and tweets, including one where she helpfully self-identified as “a very radical person.” The receipts, which left Behn carrying the label of “Tennessee’s AOC,” likely hindered the ex-activist and organizer’s crossover appeal in the deep-red district.
Among the faux pas that Behn was forced to relive: numerous calls to defund the police (and a refusal to disavow those calls); expressing disdain for Nashville, at the heart of her district; saying that she was uncomfortable with prayer; a video of her breaking down in tears after being dragged out of the Republican governor’s office, where she was trespassing; and an odd clip where she advised women not to have children based in part on dreams she’d transcribed with the help of her therapist.
Aftyn Behn continues her train wreck of a campaign to be a representative from Tennessee.
Here she’s asked about her past calls to defund the police. She refuses to talk about them.
Behn won’t even say if she supports defunding the police now.
Pathetic.pic.twitter.com/bGrC7MQWrd https://t.co/wu0LJzXyZN
— Paul A. Szypula 🇺🇸 (@Bubblebathgirl) November 24, 2025
Aftyn Behn continues her train wreck of a campaign to be a representative from Tennessee.
Here she’s asked about her past calls to defund the police. She refuses to talk about them.
Behn won’t even say if she supports defunding the police now.
Pathetic.pic.twitter.com/bGrC7MQWrd https://t.co/wu0LJzXyZN
— Paul A. Szypula 🇺🇸 (@Bubblebathgirl) November 24, 2025
Good morning to all the people who ACTUALLY respect our law enforcement officers unlike Aftyn Behn who thinks it’s okay to burn down police stations. pic.twitter.com/Eel6vFwIxF
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) November 29, 2025
🚨BREAKING: Audio has just been uncovered where Democrat Congressional candidate Aftyn Behn (TN-07) says she OPPOSES prayer.
Aftyn Behn: “There are also prayer groups in the legislature…it is uncomfortable!”
TN-07 nominee Aftyn Behn just deleted this post from 2024. pic.twitter.com/lgvd7jz4cj
— AJ Huber (@Huberton) November 26, 2025
🚨MORE INSANTIY🚨 Resurfaced video from 2019 shows Democrat Tennessee candidate Aftyn Behn SCREAMING and SOBBING as officers had to forcibly drag her out of Gov. Lee’s office. @DailyCaller pic.twitter.com/rcUnwQeXlN
— Nicole Silverio (@NicoleMSilverio) November 24, 2025
🚨 Democrat nominee for the upcoming TN07 special election Aftyn Behn condemns women who get married and start families– saying it’s the product of “deeply patriarchal structures”:
“My therapist always asks me to transcribe my dreams and the recurring dream I’ve had is standing… pic.twitter.com/LTsYj0im7Q
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) November 24, 2025
Behn also threatened to target conservatives like the Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh over their opposition to transgender procedures for children, noting in a forum that her “partner has a trans son” and that “every legislative session, I promise to carry a trans bill of rights so that we can push back against the far right narrative that is being emanated” by Walsh and the Wire:
Democrat Aftyn Behn, who’s running to represent TN in Congress:
“Every legislative session, I promise to carry a trans bill of rights so that we can push back against the far right narrative that is being emanated by Matt Walsh and the Daily Wire.”pic.twitter.com/px3e6S1OOx
— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) November 24, 2025
“We may not have won tonight, but we changed the story of what’s possible here,” Behn said in her concession speech.
The New York Times also noted that “Democrats in the crowd took comfort while sipping a vodka and orange liqueur cocktail called the ‘progressive pink lady.’”
The results of the special election mean that Republicans will have a slightly wider margin in the House of Representatives, 219-213.
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