An unexpectedly tight special election is unfolding in Tennessee, where Democrats in the United States are hoping to flip the reliably conservative 7th congressional district.
On Tuesday, voters in the southern state headed to the polls on Tuesday to select a successor for Republican Representative Mark Green, who resigned in July to pursue a career in the private sector.
His vacant seat in the US House of Representatives has paved the way for a surprisingly competitive off-season race, viewed by Democrats as a possible indicator of growing dissatisfaction with Republican President Donald Trump ahead of the upcoming midterm elections.
The election pits Trump-backed candidate Matt Van Epps, a former state commissioner, against Democratic state Representative Aftyn Behn.
“I am asking all America First Patriots in Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District to please GET OUT AND VOTE for a phenomenal Candidate and MAGA Warrior, Matt Van Epps!” Trump said in a social media post on Tuesday.
“You can win this Election for Matt, who has my Complete and Total Endorsement.”
Other national figures have weighed in on the race, including progressive Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and former Vice President Al Gore, both of whom rallied on Behn’s behalf.
“The very fact that this race is in play is showing that we are in a time when anything can happen and that miracles can happen, including in Tennessee,” Ocasio-Cortez said, who praised Behn for her “guts”.
“Now we have this race within striking distance: what we call the margin of effort.”
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Democrats hope for off-year house upset in Tennessee special election
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National spotlight on a local race
The fight for control of Tennessee’s 7th congressional district comes less than a year before the US holds its pivotal midterm elections in November 2026.
During the midterms, all 435 seats in the House of Representatives are up for grabs. Currently, Republicans have a narrow majority in that chamber, as well as in the US Senate.
