US EditionRepublican Matt Van Epps Wins Tennessee Special Election
Matt Van Epps won by 9 points in a district Trump won by 22 points last year amid $6 million in outside spending backing his campaign, signaling challenges ahead for Republicans.
- On Tuesday, Republican Matt Van Epps won the special election for Tennessee's 7th Congressional District, defeating Aftyn Behn with 53.9 percent to 45.0 percent, a margin of just over 15,000 votes.
- The special election was prompted by the July resignation of Rep. Mark Green, with both parties' national committees treating it as a national contest, mobilizing top figures and resources.
- Republican-Aligned groups spent over $3.5 million on ads, including $1.7 million from MAGA Inc., $473,000 from Club for Growth, and $767,000 from Conservatives for American Excellence Inc., while President Donald Trump held telerallies and House Speaker Mike Johnson campaigned Monday.
- The result moves House Republicans to 220 seats once Van Epps is sworn in, giving House Speaker Mike Johnson a small buffer that may shrink due to upcoming resignations and special elections.
- Democrats cast the close result as momentum heading into 2026, as Aftyn Behn narrowed the usual Republican margin despite President Donald Trump's 2024 margin in the district and turnout in the special election neared midterm levels.
187 Articles
187 Articles
Johnson Slammed After Timeline to Swear In Newest GOP Member Revealed
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson is coming under fire after a report revealed he expects to swear in this week the newest Republican elected to Congress, Matt Van Epps, for whom Johnson campaigned. Van Epps won a narrow victory Tuesday night in a deep red Tennessee district. The move comes after Johnson most recently delayed seating Democratic U.S. Rep. Adelita Grijalva of Arizona for 50 days. Johnson offered an array of explanations for why he…
Tennessee CD-7 Victory Best GOP Special House Election Performance In Years As 2026 Midterms Loom
By Robert Romano In a 20-plus percentage point Republican district in 2024, U.S Representative-elect Matt Van Epps won Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District by a mere 9 points, 53.9 percent to 45 percent. It being a special election, turnout is much lower and with a Republican in the White House, the candidate running in the same party, in this case Van Epps, always underperforms. The question with every special election under these circumstanc…
Tennessee Special Election is a MASSIVE Wake-Up Call for Republicans Ahead of 2026 Midterms
A Tennessee district that voted for Trump by 22 points is suddenly a 2-point race, and the warning signs for Republicans couldn’t be clearer. With a strong GOP candidate, a weak progressive Democrat, and a deep-red electorate, this race should be a blowout. Instead, low turnout and December timing have turned a safe seat into a dangerous toss-up. What happens here could preview 2026 and whether the GOP is ready, or already slipping. TranscriptBe…
TN Special Election Ends Up Not Too Close, But Too Close for Comfort for GOP
While Donald Trump hailed the victory of Matt Van Epps (R) in Tennessee’s special election on Tuesday as a “great night for the Republican Party,” it certainly wasn’t that. When all the votes are counted, he will likely be up by about 9 points, which doesn’t look all that competitive on paper, but, in reality, it is way too close for comfort for the GOP. Yes, Van Epps got the job done by winning the district and preserving the slim Republican ma…
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