December 2, 2025 | |||||||||||||||||
Tennessee's 7th congressional district | |||||||||||||||||
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Van Epps: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Behn: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% | |||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in Tennessee |
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The 2025 Tennessee's 7th congressional district special election was held on December 2, 2025, to fill the vacant seat in Tennessee's 7th congressional district. The deadline for entering the special election was on October 7, 2025. [1] Republican Matt Van Epps defeated Democratic nominee Aftyn Behn in the general election, and will serve in the United States House of Representatives for the remainder of the 119th United States Congress, which will end on January 3, 2027. The seat became vacant on July 20, 2025, following the resignation of Republican Mark Green who took a private sector job. [2] Green resigned after voting to help pass the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. [3] [4]
Primary elections took place on October 7, where Republican Matt Van Epps and Democrat Aftyn Behn won their respective primaries. [5] The in-person early voting period ran from November 12 to November 26. [6]
In the December 2 general election, Van Epps defeated Behn by 8.9%. Democrats significantly improved their margins in the special election, overperforming their 2024 result by 12.6%. Although voter turnout was lower, as is common in special elections, it reached a level similar to what the district recorded during the 2022 midterms. [7] This marked the strongest Democratic performance in the district since 1982. [8] [9]
Van Epps was sworn in on December 4, 2025. [10]
The 7th congressional district is a mixed urban-rural district includes parts of Nashville that are heavily Democratic, such as downtown, two universities, Belmont and Vanderbilt, and most of the city's majority-black precincts. Surrounding counties, including Cheatham, Dickson, Robertson, and Williamson, are generally affluent and include mainly majority-white exurbs and suburbs. Franklin, in particular, is a wealthy Republican suburban stronghold. Montgomery County, anchored by Clarksville, Tennessee's fifth-largest city, is politically mixed and slightly more competitive than the district overall. Clarksville is diverse, with White, Black, and Hispanic populations spread throughout the city, and the county often serves as a bellwether for the district. The district's rural areas are overwhelmingly Republican, consisting of eight counties that are predominantly White, and this portion helps maintain the district's strongly red character. [11]
In the 2024 presidential election, the district voted for Donald Trump by more than 22%. [12] It also supported Mark Green in 2024 by over 21%. [13] The district’s 2025 Cook PVI was R+10. [14]
Italics indicate a withdrawn candidate.
| Campaign finance reports as of November 11, 2025 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Raised | Spent | Cash on hand |
| Gino Bulso (R) | $757,062 [b] | $701,501 | $55,561 |
| Jody Barrett (R) | $316,907 | $255,345 | $61,562 |
| Stuart Cooper (R) | $34,653 [c] | $28,793 | $5,859 |
| Mason Foley (R) | $405,548 [d] | $391,822 | $13,726 |
| Jason Knight (R) | $41,865 [e] | $36,093 | $5,772 |
| Joe Leurs (R) | $6,604 | $17,747 | $0 |
| Stewart Parks (R) | $362,210 [f] | $358,595 | $3,615 |
| Matthew Van Epps (R) | $992,716 | $761,549 | $231,167 |
| Lee Reeves (R) | $578,854 [g] | $550,388 | $28,466 |
| Source: Federal Election Commission [41] | |||
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size [h] | Margin of error | Jody Barrett | Gino Bulso | Lee Reeves | Matt Van Epps | Other | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spry Strategies [42] [A] | August 19–23, 2025 | 500 (LV) | ± 4.4% | 10% | 9% | 8% | 7% | 8% [i] | 58% |
Matt Van Epps won twelve of the fourteen counties, while Jody Barrett won the two counties he represents in the Tennessee State House, Dickson and Hickman.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Matt Van Epps | 19,006 | 51.56% | |
| Republican | Jody Barrett | 9,337 | 25.33% | |
| Republican | Gino Bulso | 4,005 | 10.86% | |
| Republican | Lee Reeves (withdrawn) | 1,929 | 5.23% | |
| Republican | Mason Foley | 1,022 | 2.77% | |
| Republican | Stewart Parks | 595 | 1.61% | |
| Republican | Jason Knight | 381 | 1.03% | |
| Republican | Stuart Cooper | 239 | 0.65% | |
| Republican | Tres Wittum | 133 | 0.36% | |
| Republican | Joe Leurs | 122 | 0.33% | |
| Republican | Adolph Dagan | 93 | 0.25% | |
| Total votes | 36,862 | 100.00% | ||
| Campaign finance reports as of November 12, 2025 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Raised | Spent | Cash on hand |
| Aftyn Behn (D) | $1,230,629 | $708,892 | $521,737 |
| Darden Copeland (D) | $591,675 [j] | $483,889 | $107,786 |
| Vincent Dixie (D) | $161,609 | $145,924 | $15,685 |
| Bo Mitchell (D) | $228,777 | $198,633 | $30,144 |
| Source: Federal Election Commission [41] | |||
Aftyn Behn narrowly won, carrying one county, Williamson County, by a slim margin. She performed well in the more populous Montgomery and Davidson counties, which helped secure her victory. Darden Copeland and Bo Mitchell each carried six counties, while Vincent Dixie won Davidson.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Aftyn Behn | 8,653 | 27.89% | |
| Democratic | Darden Copeland | 7,720 | 24.88% | |
| Democratic | Bo Mitchell | 7,498 | 24.17% | |
| Democratic | Vincent Dixie | 7,153 | 23.06% | |
| Total votes | 31,024 | 100.00% | ||
| Campaign finance reports as of September 30, 2025 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Raised | Spent | Cash on hand |
| Jon Thorp (I) | $7,392 | $7,332 | $60 |
| Source: Federal Election Commission [41] | |||
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Inside Elections [53] | Lean R | November 20, 2025 |
| The Cook Political Report [54] | Likely R | November 13, 2025 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball [55] | Likely R | July 10, 2025 |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size [h] | Margin of error | Matt Van Epps (R) | Aftyn Behn (D) | Other | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emerson College [77] [B] | November 22–24, 2025 | 600 (LV) | ± 3.9% | 48% | 46% | 2% [k] | 5% |
| 49% [l] | 47% | 4% [m] | – | ||||
| Impact Research (D) [78] [C] | October 16–19, 2025 | 700 (LV) | ± 3.7% | 52% | 44% | 1% [n] | 3% |
| Workbench Strategy (D) [79] [D] | October 15–19, 2025 | 400 (LV) | ± 5.7% | 51% | 41% | 7% [o] | 1% |
| 52% [p] | 44% | 4% [q] | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Matt Van Epps | 97,034 | 53.90% | −5.60 | |
| Democratic | Aftyn Behn | 81,109 | 45.06% | +7.01 | |
| Independent | Jon Thorp | 932 | 0.52% | N/A | |
| Independent | Terri Christie | 610 | 0.34% | N/A | |
| Independent | Bobby Dodge | 198 | 0.11% | N/A | |
| Independent | Robert Sutherby | 129 | 0.07% | N/A | |
| Total votes | 180,012 | 100.00% | |||
| Republican hold | |||||
| County | Matt Van Epps Republican | Aftyn Behn Democratic | Various candidates Independent | Margin | Total votes cast | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | Swing | ||
| Benton (part) | 1,724 | 77.24% | 470 | 21.06% | 38 | 1.70% | 1,254 | 56.18% | -5.16% | 2,232 |
| Cheatham | 7,917 | 66.27% | 3,910 | 32.73% | 120 | 1.00% | 4,007 | 33.54% | -8.94% | 11,947 |
| Davidson (part) | 9,163 | 21.57% | 32,990 | 77.65% | 330 | 0.78% | -23,827 | -56.08% | -19.36% | 42,483 |
| Decatur | 1,970 | 79.34% | 486 | 19.57% | 27 | 1.09% | 1,484 | 59.77% | -5.78% | 2,483 |
| Dickson | 9,169 | 69.93% | 3,812 | 29.07% | 130 | 0.99% | 5,357 | 40.86% | -7.28% | 13,111 |
| Hickman | 3,883 | 75.90% | 1,157 | 22.62% | 76 | 1.49% | 2,726 | 53.28% | -4.27% | 5,116 |
| Houston | 1,408 | 72.76% | 506 | 26.15% | 21 | 1.09% | 902 | 46.61% | -7.53% | 1,935 |
| Humphreys | 3,035 | 71.41% | 1,159 | 27.27% | 56 | 1.32% | 1,876 | 44.14% | -7.28% | 4,250 |
| Montgomery | 22,997 | 53.34% | 19,552 | 45.35% | 569 | 1.32% | 3,445 | 7.99% | -11.72% | 43,118 |
| Perry | 1,274 | 76.75% | 364 | 21.93% | 22 | 1.33% | 910 | 54.82% | -8.63% | 1,660 |
| Robertson | 12,608 | 71.07% | 4,911 | 27.68% | 221 | 1.25% | 7,697 | 43.39% | -4.00% | 17,740 |
| Stewart | 2,588 | 76.25% | 767 | 22.60% | 39 | 1.15% | 1,821 | 53.65% | -7.88% | 3,394 |
| Wayne | 2,412 | 84.63% | 417 | 14.63% | 21 | 0.74% | 1,995 | 70.00% | -4.25% | 2,850 |
| Williamson (part) | 16,886 | 60.98% | 10,608 | 38.31% | 199 | 0.72% | 6,278 | 22.67% | -9.52% | 27,693 |
| Totals | 97,034 | 53.90% | 81,109 | 45.06% | 1,869 | 1.04% | 15,925 | 8.84% | -12.61% | 180,012 |
Mason Foley Previously held position Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) (Jan. 2020-Jan. 2022), Legislative Correspondent
We'll also discuss how to support our Memphis comrades during the National Guard occupation, and helping with Rep Aftyn Behn's special election campaign.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)