Van Epps defeats Aftyn Behn in congressional election closely watched for signs of Republican weakness

Tennessee's 7th congressional district has become competitive after polling tightened between Republican Matt Van Epps and Democrat Aftyn Behn.

Matt Van Epps defeated Democrat Aftyn Behn in a closer-than-expected race.

Van Epps defeats Aftyn Behn in congressional election closely watched for signs of Republican weakness

Republicans should take this as a sign that their actions in Washington are not being well-received, even in the reddest parts of the country.

The race has been viewed as a bellwether for the 2026 midterm elections and the margin of Republican victory will be closely analysed.

Van Epps' 9 point victory margin was significantly narrower than the 21 point margin by which the GOP won the House seat in last year's election in the deep-red district.

Democrat Aftyn Behn significantly exceeded expectations after she received help from the national party in a deep-red district

As expected, Republican Matt Van Epps won in an extremely conservative district that includes Nashville and 13 counties to the west of the city. However, he fell 13 points short…

Republican Van Epps manages to defeat his Democratic challenger by a narrow margin.