Tight Race in Tennessee's 7th Congressional District as Voters Head to the Polls

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Tennessee's 7th Congressional District is dominating Republican Party attention right now as voters head to the polls today for a special election that has become unexpectedly competitive. Republican Matt Van Epps is facing Democrat Aftyn Behn in what was supposed to be an easy GOP win in a district that gave President Trump roughly 60 percent of the vote last November. The intensity of national attention on this race underscores how seriously both parties are treating it ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

President Trump has made multiple personal appeals to voters, calling into campaign events twice on Monday and holding virtual rallies to energize Republican support. House Speaker Mike Johnson headlined get-out-the-vote rallies, while Republican leaders including Senators Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty, Governor Bill Lee, and national party chairman Joe Gruters all descended on the district to campaign for Van Epps. The Republican National Committee has backed him with over a million dollars from the pro-Trump MAGA Inc. super PAC, which accounts for roughly a quarter of the more than 6.5 million dollars in outside spending flooding the race.

Democrats have matched that intensity with their own high-profile surrogates. Former Vice President Al Gore and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez headlined a virtual rally for Behn on Monday evening, while former Vice President Kamala Harris visited the district last month during a book tour. The Democratic Party has invested a million dollars through the House Majority PAC to support Behn, a self-described social worker and progressive community organizer from Nashville. Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries predicted an unexpectedly close race, suggesting that Republicans have already lost by the fact they're forced to spend millions defending a seat Trump won by 22 points.

The competing campaigns have focused heavily on cost of living, with Behn condemning Trump's tariffs and tax cut legislation while Van Epps embraces the Trump agenda. Behn argues Republicans lack a plan to address rising healthcare costs, while Van Epps supporters cite concerns about illegal immigration and wanting to continue Trump's policies. Political observers have noted that outside money has particularly flooded the race in the final two weeks as early voting picked up, with two-thirds of all super PAC spending coming during this period.

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