Upcoming House Election Tests Democrat Mettle Ahead of 2026 Midterms

Next week’s special election to replace Rep. Mark Green, R-Tenn., in Tennessee’s 7th congressional district is shaping up to be a bellwether of Democrats’ strength heading into the midterms.

While the Republican candidate in the election, Matt Van Epps, is expected to win the election, how Democrats perform will be a sign of Democrats’ support following their string of wins in New York, New Jersey, Virginia, and Pennsylvania in November. And with the Democrat candidate Aftyn Behn likened to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., the election also represents a test of how progressive messaging will perform in red areas.

The congressional vacancy was created after Green resigned his seat from a district President Donald Trump won by 22 points in the 2024 presidential election. 

“This is our first special election in nearly 40 years in Tennessee, so this is really a once-in-a-generation opportunity for us,” Dakota Galban, chair of the Davidson County Democratic Party, told The Hill.

A Republican With Strong Endorsements

Van Epps has strong GOP backing. He has earned the endorsements of Trump, Green, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, and Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio.

The Army veteran with Washington aspirations also has deep connections to the Republican Party in Tennessee, with previous experience as commissioner of the Tennessee Department of General Services and in the Tennessee governor’s office.

A graduate of West Point, Van Epps served for ten years on active duty. That involved combat deployments where he served as a helicopter pilot and Air Mission Commander in Army Special Operations. Van Epps rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel in the Tennessee Army National Guard.

A Democrat With a Progressive Message

Van Epps’s opponent, Behn, is a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives representing downtown Nashville.

Behn holds a degree in social work from the University of Texas, Austin and has an extensive resume working for left-wing groups. She previously served as the campaign director for RuralOrganizing and has also worked for the progressive grassroots organization known as National Indivisible.

Behn has also been “a consultant for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Geneva, Switzerland” according to her official campaign biography.

The president has characterized Behn as a “left-wing lunatic,” and said she had been called “the AOC of Tennessee because of how radical left and how dangerous her policies are.” Behn has been criticized for past comments she made on social media including a tweet that called for the dissolution of the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department in 2020, which has since been deleted.

Behn has campaigned on quality-of-life issues, portraying the Republicans in charge of Tennessee as complacent. “I have been someone who’s been trying to make health care more affordable in the state for a long time, and I think that the paradigm is shifting, and there’s a few reasons for that. One is that we’ve had a Republican Trifecta in the state for 15 years, and it is not delivered for the Tennessee people,” Behn told the political news show Breaking Points in a video published on November 23.

The election will be held on Tuesday, December 2. Early voting has started in the district. The Daily Signal reached out to the campaigns of Van Epps and Behn.

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