(The Center Square) – A new poll shows Democrat Aftyn Behn and Republican Matt Van Epps are in a close race for the 7th District congressional seat.
Forty-eight percent of the 600 people questioned in the Emerson College Polling/The Hill survey between Nov. 22 and Nov. 22 said they backed Van Epps, while 46% said they backed Behn.
The two are vying for the seat vacated by former U.S. Rep. Mark Green, a Republican. Who wins could be determined by who goes to the polls on Tuesday.
“Those who report voting early break for Behn, 56% to 42%, whereas those who plan to vote on Election Day break for Van Epps, 51% to 39%,” said Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling. “Voters under 40 are Behn’s strongest group, 64% of whom support her, while Van Epps’ vote increases with age, to 61% of those over 70.”
As of Tuesday, 74,694 people had cast their votes. Wednesday was the last day of early voting before Tuesday’s election.
The economy is the top concern among Tennesseans surveyed (38%), with affordable housing coming in a distant second (15%), followed by health care and threats to democracy, which received 13% each, according to the poll.
President Donald Trump’s approval rating declined, with a 49% disapproval rating and a 47% approval rating, according to the poll.
“President Trump’s approval rating is a stark reversal from last November, when he carried the district by 22 points,” Kimball said. “The decline is driven by independents, among whom 59% disapprove and just 34% approve.”
Both parties have poured millions of dollars into the race in hopes of swaying voters.
“The Republicans are pretty worried that they could lose this race or it gets close enough that it continues the narrative that they’re on the defensive so they’re pouring in resources to try to fight that perception,” said Dr. John Geer, a Distinguished Professor of Political Science at Vanderbilt University and Gertrude Conway Vanderbilt Chair, in an interview with The Center Square. “The Democrats are putting money in too because there’s a small chance that they could pull an upset.”
The district stretches through a swath of middle Tennessee from the Kentucky border to the Alabama border.
