(The Center Square) – Tennessee state Rep. Aftyn Behn of Nashville may have lost her bid to represent the 7th Congressional District in Congress, but Democrats say the election shows they are gaining ground.
The unofficial results from the Tennessee Secretary of State’s office show Republican Matt Van Epps with 96,988 votes to Behn’s 81,044, a winning difference of 8%. President Donald Trump led the district by more than 22% in the November 2024 general election.
“Aftyn closed the gap by 16.6 points,” said Ezra Levin, coexecutive director of the Indivisible Political Action Committee. “Extrapolate that out. A 16.6 point swing next year would translate into 50 Republican congressional losses. It would mean Democratic senators from Michigan to Ohio to Iowa to North Carolina to Maine. It would be a generational realignment election.”
Republicans said the election results show that Tennessee remains a red state.
“Tonight, Tennessee rejected Democrats’ radical beliefs and showed the nation why we’re the best state to live, work, and rear a family,” said U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., who is also running for governor on social media. “I can’t wait to work with Congressman Van Epps to make Tennessee America’s conservative leader.”
Behn touted her efforts in the Tennessee General Assembly, saying they benefited families, which included a bill that would end a tax on groceries. Van Epps and other Republicans called Behn a radical.
“Matt is fighting against a woman who hates Christianity, will take away your guns, wants open borders, transgender for everybody, men in women’s sports, and openly disdains country music,” Trump said in his social media post endorsing Van Epps.
House Democratic Caucus Chairman John Ray Clemmons said Behn focused on quality-of-life issues that will lay the foundation for the 2026 congressional races.
“Tennesseans have grown exhausted by extremist nonsense and want leaders who are more interested in working for Tennessee families than billionaire special interests and foreign corporations,” Clemmons said in a statement. “There is a clear desire for our state to move back toward the middle and focus on meaningful issues that impact every family – public education, health care, roads and infrastructure, and housing.”
The race was seen as crucial for Republicans, who hold a slim majority in the House of Representatives. Van Epps’ win gives House Republicans a 220-213 majority.
Last November, Republicans captured a 220-215 advantage. Two vacancies remain, and both seats were occupied by Democrats.
