2025 Tennessee's 7th congressional district special election

2025 Tennessee's 7th congressional district special election

←  2024 December 2, 2025 2026  →
Tennessee's 7th congressional district
Nominee Matt Van Epps Aftyn Behn Party Republican Democratic
U.S. Representative before election Mark Green Republican Elected U.S. Representative TBD

The 2025 Tennessee's 7th congressional district special election will be 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] The winner 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 the House voted again to 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]

Background

The 7th congressional 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 solidly Republican, consisting of eight counties that are predominantly White, and this portion helps maintain the district’s Republican lean. ^[6]

In the 2024 presidential election, the district voted for Donald Trump by more than 22%. ^[7] It also supported Mark Green in 2024 by over 21%. ^[8] As of 2025, the district has a Cook PVI of R+10. ^[9]

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Matt Van Epps, former commissioner of the Tennessee Department of General Services (2024–2025) ^[10]

Eliminated in primary

• Jody Barrett, state representative from the 69th district (2023–present) ^[11]
• Gino Bulso, state representative from the 61st district (2023–present) ^[12]
• Stuart Cooper, businessman ^[13]
• Adolph Dagan, teacher ^[13]
• Mason Foley, former legislative correspondent for U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell ^{[13] [14]}
• Jason Knight, Montgomery County commissioner and candidate for Tennessee's 22nd Senate district in 2019 ^[15]
• Joe Leurs, retired police officer ^[13]
• Stewart Parks, realtor, participant in the January 6 Capitol attack, and candidate for the 5th district in 2022 ^[16]
• Tres Wittum, legislative policy analyst, candidate for Tennessee's 5th congressional district in 2022 and candidate for U.S. Senate in 2024 ^[13]

Withdrawn

• Jay Reedy, state representative from the 74th district (2015–present) (endorsed Bulso) ^{[16] [17]}
• Jon Thorp, commercial helicopter pilot (running as an independent) ^[13]
• Lee Reeves, state representative from the 65th district (2025–present) (endorsed Van Epps; remained on ballot) ^[18]

Declined

• Aron Maberry, state representative from the 68th district (2025–present) ^[19] (endorsed Reeves) ^[20]
• Brandon Ogles, former state representative from the 61st district (2019–2023), candidate for this district in 2024, and cousin of U.S. Representative Andy Ogles ^[21]
• Bill Powers, state senator from the 22nd district (2019–present) ^[22]

Endorsements

Jody Barrett

Executive branch officials

• Michael Flynn, former U.S. National Security Advisor (2017) ^[23]

Local officials

• Tim Eads, Dickson County sheriff ^[23]
• Tito Ortiz, former Huntington Beach, California city councilmember (2020–2021) ^[23]

Individuals

• Camie Guenther-Green, ex-wife of former U.S. representative Mark Green ^[23]
• John Rich, musician ^[23]

Organizations

• House Freedom Fund ^[24]

Gino Bulso

State legislators

• Jay Reedy, state representative from the 74th district (2015–present) ^[17]

Individuals

• Darrell Waltrip, former NASCAR driver ^[23]

Matt Van Epps

Executive branch officials

• Donald Trump, 45th and 47th president of the United States (2017–2021, 2025–present) ^[18]

U.S. representative

• Mark Green, former U.S. representative from Tennessee's 7th congressional district (2019–2025) ^[25]
• Mike Haridopolos, U.S. representative from Florida's 8th congressional district (2025–present) ^[23]
• Jim Jordan, U.S. representative from Ohio's 4th congressional district (2007–present) ^[26]
• David McIntosh, former U.S. representative from Indiana's 2nd congressional district (1995–2001) ^[27]

Statewide officials

• Bill Haslam, former Governor of Tennessee (2011–2019) ^[23]
• Bill Lee, Governor of Tennessee (2019–present) ^[28]

State legislators

• Lee Reeves, state representative from the 65th district (2025–present) ^[18]

Local officials

• Glenn Jacobs, Knox County mayor (2018–present) ^{[29] [30]}
• Michael Lankford, Montgomery County commissioner ^[31]

Organizations

• Club for Growth ^[27]
• With Honor Fund ^[32]

Lee Reeves (withdrawn)

State legislators

• Jeremy Faison, state representative from the 11th district (2011–present) ^[33]
• Jack Johnson, majority leader of the Tennessee Senate (2019–present) from the 27th district (2007–present) ^[34]
• Aron Maberry, state representative from the 68th district (2025–present) ^[20]
• Jake McCalmon, state representative from the 63th district (2023–present) ^[33]

Local officials

• Glenn Jacobs, Knox County mayor (2018–present) ^[34]
• 7 other mayors ^[35]

Party officials

• Lonnie Spivak, former chair of the Nashville Republican Party ^[23]

Organizations

• GOPAC ^[36]

Fundraising

Italics indicate a withdrawn candidate.

Campaign finance reports as of September 17, 2025
Candidate	Raised	Spent	Cash on hand
Gino Bulso (R)	$550,005 [a]	$474,449	$75,556
Jody Barrett (R)	$241,872	$171,718	$70,154
Stuart Cooper (R)	$34,313 [b]	$27,409	$6,904
Mason Foley (R)	$396,278 [c]	$272,361	$123,917
Jason Knight (R)	$41,170 [d]	$36,067	$5,103
Joe Leurs (R)	$6,604	$17,747	$0
Stewart Parks (R)	$334,307 [e]	$330,034	$4,273
Matthew Van Epps (R)	$359,256	$249,877	$109,379
Lee Reeves (R)	$569,015 [f]	$487,487	$81,528
Source: Federal Election Commission [37]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size [g]	Margin of error	Jody Barrett	Gino Bulso	Lee Reeves	Matt Van Epps	Other	Undecided
Spry Strategies [38] [A]	August 19–23, 2025	500 (LV)	± 4.4%	10%	9%	8%	7%	8% [h]	58%

Results

Results by county

  Van Epps

•   30–40%
•   40–50%
•   50–60%
•   60–70%

  Barrett

•   50–60%

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.

Republican primary results ^[39]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Matt Van Epps	19,001	51.56%
	Republican	Jody Barrett	9,335	25.33%
	Republican	Gino Bulso	4,004	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			36,854	100.00%

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Aftyn Behn, state representative from the 51st district (2023–present) ^[11]

Eliminated in primary

• Darden Copeland, consultant ^[40]
• Vincent Dixie, state representative from the 54th district (2019–present) ^[16]
• Bo Mitchell, state representative from the 50th district (2013–present) ^[41]

Declined

• Charlane Oliver, state senator from the 19th district (2023–present) ^[40]
• Megan Barry, former mayor of Nashville (2015–2018) and nominee for this district in 2024 ^[42]

Endorsements

Aftyn Behn

Organizations

• Indivisible Tennessee ^[43]
• Moms Demand Action ^[23]
• Progressive Democrats of America ^[44]
• Tennessee College Democrats ^[23]

Vincent Dixie

State legislators

• Gloria Johnson, state representative from the 90th district (2013–2015, 2019–present) ^[23]

Organizations

• The Collective PAC ^[23]

Bo Mitchell

U.S. representatives

• Bob Clement, U.S. representative from Tennessee's 5th congressional district (1988–2003) ^[23]
• John Tanner, U.S. representative from Tennessee's 8th congressional district (1989–2011) ^[23]

State legislators

• Heidi Campbell, state senator from the 20th district (2021–present) ^[23]

Local officials

• Jason Spain, Nashville metro councilmember from the 30th district ^[23]
• Sheri Weiner, Nashville metro councilmember from the 22nd district ^[23]

Labor unions

• International Association of Fire Fighters Local 140 ^[23]

Fundraising

Campaign finance reports as of September 17, 2025
Candidate	Raised	Spent	Cash on hand
Aftyn Behn (D)	$149,028	$104,365	$44,664
Darden Copeland (D)	$434,936 [i]	$43,214	$391,723
Vincent Dixie (D)	$138,230	$93,010	$45,220
Bo Mitchell (D)	$202,840	$108,807	$94,034
Source: Federal Election Commission [37]

Results

Results by county

  Behn

•   30–40%

  Copeland

•   30–40%
•   40–50%
•   50–60%

  Mitchell

•   30–40%
•   40–50%
•   50–60%
•   60–70%

  Dixie

•   30–40%

Aftyn Behn narrowly won, carrying only one county, Williamson County, by a slim margin. However, 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.

Democratic primary results ^[45]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Aftyn Behn	8,648	27.89%
	Democratic	Darden Copeland	7,716	24.89%
	Democratic	Bo Mitchell	7,492	24.17%
	Democratic	Vincent Dixie	7,146	23.05%
Total votes			31,002	100.00%

Independents

Candidates

Declared

• Terri Christie, boat captain ^[46]
• Bobby Dodge ^[13]
• Robert James Sutherby ^[13]
• Jon Thorp, commercial helicopter pilot (previously ran as a Republican) ^[47]

Fundraising

Campaign finance reports as of June 30, 2025
Candidate	Raised	Spent	Cash on hand
Jon Thorp (I)	$1,387	$1,087	$300
Source: Federal Election Commission [37]

General election

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
Sabato's Crystal Ball [48]	Likely R	July 10, 2025

Results

2025 Tennessee's 7th congressional district special election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Matt Van Epps
	Democratic	Aftyn Behn
	Independent	Terri Christie			N/A
	Independent	Bobby Dodge			N/A
	Independent	Robert James Sutherby			N/A
	Independent	Jon Thorp			N/A
Total votes					N/A

By county

County	Matt Van Epps Republican		Aftyn Behn Democratic		Others Independent		Total votes
	%	#	%	#	%	#
Benton (part)
Cheatham
Davidson (part)
Decatur
Dickson
Hickman
Houston
Humphreys
Montgomery
Perry
Robertson
Stewart
Wayne
Williamson (part)

See also

• 2025 United States elections
• 2025 United States House of Representatives elections
• List of special elections to the United States House of Representatives
• List of United States representatives from Tennessee
• 119th United States Congress

Notes

1. $493,972 of this total was self-funded by Bulso
2. $1,656 of this total was self-funded by Cooper
3. $325,000 of this total was self-funded by Foley
4. $20,000 of this total was self-funded by Knight
5. $67,167 of this total was self-funded by Parks
6. $300,000 of this total was self-funded by Reeves
7. Key:
   A – all adults
   RV – registered voters
   LV – likely voters
   V – unclear
8. Knight with 3%; Wittum with 2%; Cooper, Dagan, and Parks with 1%; Foley and Leurs with 0%
9. $100,000 of this total was self-funded by Copeland

Partisan clients

1. This poll was sponsored by Americans for Prosperity Tennessee

References

1. "Secretary of State Tre Hargett Provides Timeline for Seventh Congressional District Special Election". sos.tn.gov. Tennessee Secretary of State. Retrieved July 24, 2025.
2. "Rep. Mark Green Retires from the U.S. House of Representatives". June 9, 2025. Retrieved June 9, 2025.
3. Masters, Hamilton Matthew (June 9, 2025). "Rep. Mark Green Announces Resignation". Nashville Scene . Retrieved June 10, 2025.
4. Alexandra Koch, Chad Pergram (July 3, 2025). "Congressman's last day in office revealed after vote on Trump's 'Big, Beautiful Bill'". Fox News. Retrieved July 3, 2025.
5. "Tennessee Seventh Congressional District Election Results". The New York Times. October 7, 2025. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved October 8, 2025.
6. Morris, Nick (July 8, 2025). "A Deep Dive into Tennessee's 7th Congressional District". Elections Daily. Retrieved September 27, 2025.
7. Morris, Nick (July 8, 2025). "A Deep Dive into Tennessee's 7th Congressional District". Elections Daily. Retrieved September 27, 2025.
8. "Tennessee House District 7 Election 2024 Live Results". www.nbcnews.com. Retrieved September 27, 2025.
9. "2025 Cook PVI℠: District Map and List (119th Congress)". Cook Political Report. April 3, 2025. Retrieved September 27, 2025.
10. Schelzig, Erik (June 10, 2025). "Van Epps announces bid for Green seat in Congress, steps down from Lee Cabinet". State Affairs. Retrieved June 10, 2025.
11. Rau, Nate (July 7, 2025). "Race to replace Rep. Mark Green gets crowded quickly". Axios . Retrieved July 7, 2025.
12. Masters, Hamilton Matthew (July 28, 2025). "State Rep. Gino Bulso Launches 7th Congressional District Bid". Nashville Scene . Retrieved July 28, 2025.
13. Reeves, Cheri (August 12, 2025). "Candidates qualify for 7th Congressional District special election". Main Street Media of Tennessee. Retrieved August 13, 2025.
14. "Mason Foley - Previously held position: Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) (Jan. 2020-Jan. 2022), Legislative Correspondent - Biography | LegiStorm". www.legistorm.com. Retrieved August 16, 2025. Mason Foley Previously held position Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) (Jan. 2020-Jan. 2022), Legislative Correspondent
15. Smith, Chris (June 11, 2025). "Who's running so far to replace Congressman Mark Green: 3 Republican military veterans step up" . Retrieved June 11, 2025.
16. Stockard, Sam (July 15, 2025). "Congressional candidates dropping, adding in Tennessee District 7 race". Tennessee Lookout. Retrieved July 15, 2025.
17. Housler, Kaitlin (August 14, 2025). "Gino Bulso's Campaign for TN-7 Endorsed by State Rep. Jay Reedy". The Tennessee Star . Retrieved August 16, 2025.
18. Vivian Jones (October 3, 2025). "Donald Trump endorses Matt Van Epps in 7th District special congressional race, Reeves out". USA Today . Retrieved October 3, 2025.
19. Smith, Chris (July 9, 2025). "2 more state legislators step up to run for Mark Green's seat in Congress". Clarksville Now. Retrieved July 11, 2025.
20. Schelzig, Erik (July 14, 2025). "Green endorses Van Epps for 7th District seat, Maberry backs fellow state Rep. Reeves". State Affairs. Retrieved August 13, 2025.
21. Schelzig, Erik (August 13, 2025). "Six state representatives join 7th Congressional District race". State Affairs. Retrieved August 13, 2025.
22. Smith, Chris (June 18, 2025). "State Sen. Bill Powers decides not to run to replace Mark Green in Congress". Clarksville Now. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
23. Jones, Vivian (October 1, 2025). "Lee, Green endorse Van Epps in 7th District GOP primary, Green's ex-wife backs Barrett" . Retrieved October 5, 2025.
24. Nir, David; Singer, Jeff (September 4, 2025). "Morning Digest: Suddenly, Maine has a three-way Senate primary" . Retrieved September 4, 2025.
25. "Mark Green endorses Matt Van Epps in Tennessee race". WXMI . Retrieved July 15, 2025.
26. "Congressmember Jim Jordan backs Matt Van Epps in TN District 7 race". Axios . Retrieved September 10, 2025.
27. Housler, Kaitlin (October 3, 2025). "Club for Growth PAC Endorses Matt Van Epps in TN-7 Primary". The Tennessee Star . Retrieved October 4, 2025.
28. Heavey, Deirdre (September 30, 2025). "Tennessee governor backs military veteran just days before crowded primary election". Fox News . Retrieved September 30, 2025.
29. Glenn Jacobs endorsed Matt Van Epps after Lee Reeves, whom he had originally endorsed, dropped out.
30. Campaign, Matt Van Epps. "Matt Van Epps for Congress - West Point Graduate & Combat Veteran". Matt Van Epps for Congress. Retrieved October 10, 2025.
31. "Montgomery County Commissioner Michael Lankford Endorses Matt Van Epps for Congress". Clarksville Online. August 28, 2025. Retrieved August 30, 2025.
32. "Endorsed Candidates". With Honor Fund III. Retrieved September 10, 2025.
33. Housler, Kaitlin (August 15, 2025). "TN-7 Candidate Lee Reeves Touts Support from GOP Elected Officials". The Tennessee Star . Retrieved October 4, 2025.
34. "Lee Reeves Picks Up Notable Endorsements from Tennessee Republican Leaders". Tennessee Star . Retrieved September 8, 2025.
35. Reports, Herald (July 17, 2025). "All 7 mayors in Williamson County endorse Lee Reeves for Congress". Williamson Herald. Retrieved August 16, 2025.
36. Housler, Kaitlin (September 8, 2025). "GOPAC Election Fund Endorses TN-7 Candidate Lee Reeves". Tennessee Star. Retrieved September 17, 2025.
37. "2026 Election United States House – Tennessee 7th". Federal Election Commission . Retrieved September 27, 2025.
38. McCall, J. Holly (August 26, 2025). "Poll shows dead heat between top four Republicans in Tennessee special congressional election". Tennessee Lookout . Retrieved September 4, 2025.
39. "United States House of Representatives District 7 Republican Primary". elections.tn.gov. October 8, 2025. Retrieved October 8, 2025.
40. Stockard, Sam (June 12, 2025). "More candidates enter field to replace Green in Tennessee's 7th District". Tennessee Lookout . Retrieved June 13, 2025.
41. Rau, Nate (July 7, 2025). "Race to replace Rep. Mark Green gets crowded quickly". Axios . Retrieved July 7, 2025.
42. Schmitt, Brad (July 9, 2025). "Ex-Nashville Mayor Megan Barry won't run for TN seat US Rep. Mark Green is vacating". The Tennessean . Retrieved July 11, 2025.
43. Friedman, Adam (September 10, 2025). "Democrats spar over electability at Tennessee Congressional District 7 forum". Tennessee Lookout . Retrieved September 11, 2025.
44. "PDA Endorses Aftyn Behn for Congress in the special election for Tennessee's 7th District". pdamerica.org. Progressive Democrats of America. September 12, 2025. Retrieved September 12, 2025.
45. "United States House of Representatives District 7 Democratic Primary". elections.tn.gov. October 8, 2025. Retrieved October 8, 2025.
46. Reeves, Cheri (August 12, 2025). "Candidates qualify for 7th Congressional District special election". Main Street Media of Tennessee. Retrieved August 13, 2025.
47. Reeves, Cheri (August 12, 2025). "Candidates qualify for 7th Congressional District special election". Main Street Media of Tennessee. Retrieved August 13, 2025.
48. Miles Coleman, J. (July 10, 2025). "Notes on the State of Politics: Nebraska Senate, Upcoming Special Elections". Sabato's Crystal Ball . Retrieved July 10, 2025.

External links

Official campaign websites

• Aftyn Behn (D) for Congress
• Jon Thorp (I) for Congress
• Matt Van Epps (R) for Congress