Tennessee House Race a Bellwether for Trump?

A year away from the midterm elections, President Donald Trump and Republicans will face a test in Tuesday’s House special election in Tennessee.

“To the Great People of Tennessee’s 7th District, who gave me Record Setting Wins in each of three Elections, I am asking you to get out and VOTE FOR MATT VAN EPPS,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post Sunday.

Van Epps, the Republican nominee, is running to replace Republican former Rep. Mark Green, who resigned from Congress in July to work in business.

Trump also heaped scorn on Aftyn Behn, the Democrat Tennessee state representative seeking an upset in a district where Republicans have won comfortably in the past.

“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 wrote.

Republicans have highlighted Behn’s online footprint in recent days, including a podcast appearance in which she said of Nashville, the home of country music, “I hate this city, I hate the bachelorettes, I hate the pedal taverns, I hate country music. I hate all of the things that make Nashville, apparently, an ‘it’ city to the rest of the country, but I hate it.”

Nashville is the largest city in the district.

In response to the resurfacing of the audio, Behn said on CNN, “I was a private citizen. Nashville’s my home. Do I roll my eyes at the bachelorette parties and the pedal taverns that are blocking my access to my house? Yeah. Every Nashvillian does, but this race has always been about something bigger.”

In 2020, Behn expressed support on social media for calls to defund the police, in addition to writing, “good morning, especially to the 54% of Americans that believe burning down a police station is justified.”

Pressed for clarification on those remarks, Behn said on MS NOW, formerly MSNBC, “I don’t remember these tweets” and “I’m here to talk about my race which is in literally nine days.”

The race comes at a crucial point in Trump’s presidency. Republicans are one year away from midterm elections which could either save their trifecta or hand power to Democrats.

Tennessee has not elected a Democrat president since Bill Clinton in 1996, but it was a quintessential swing state for much of the 20th century.

A recent survey from Emerson College Polling and The Hill shows the race could be uncomfortably close for Republicans, with Van Epps leading at 48% support against Behn’s 46%.

In addition to Trump’s call for middle Tennessee to rally behind Van Epps, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., also joined the candidate at rallies on Monday. Tennessee Republican Reps. Tim Burchett and Andy Ogles, as well as Sens. Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty joined as well.

The campaigns did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

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