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
Party Republican Democratic
U.S. Representative before election Mark Green Republican Elected U.S. Representative TBD

A special election to determine the member of the United States House of Representatives for Tennessee's 7th congressional district will be held following the resignation of Republican Mark Green on July 20, 2025, to take a private sector job. ^[1] Green resigned after the House voted again to pass the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. ^{[2] [3]} It is considered a safely Republican district. Republican Secretary of State Tre Hargett announced that the primary election will take place on October 7, 2025, with the general election on December 2, 2025. ^[4] The candidate filing deadline was August 12, 2025, and the withdrawal deadline was August 15, 2025.

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared

• Jody Barrett, state representative from the 69th district (2023–present) ^[5]
• Gino Bulso, state representative from the 61st district (2023–present) ^[6]
• Stuart Cooper, businessman ^[7]
• Adolph Dagan, teacher ^[8]
• Mason Foley, former legislative correspondent for U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell ^{[9] [10]}
• Jason Knight, Montgomery County commissioner ^[11]
• Joe Leurs, retired police officer ^[12]
• Stewart Parks, realtor, participant in the January 6 Capitol attack, and candidate for the 5th district in 2022 ^[13]
• Lee Reeves, state representative from the 65th district (2025–present) ^[14]
• Matt Van Epps, former commissioner of the Tennessee Department of General Services (2024–2025) ^[15]
• Tres Wittum, legislative policy analyst, candidate for Tennessee's 5th congressional district in 2022 and candidate for U.S. Senate in 2024 ^[7]

Withdrawn

• Jay Reedy, state representative from the 74th district (2015–present) ^[13] (endorsed Bulso) ^[16]
• Jon Thorp, commercial helicopter pilot (running as an independent) ^[7]

Declined

• Aron Maberry, state representative from the 68th district (2025–present) (endorsed Reeves) ^{[17] [18]}
• Brandon Ogles, former state state representative from the 61st district (2019–2023), candidate for this district in 2024, and cousin of U.S. Representative Andy Ogles ^[19]
• Bill Powers, state senator from the 22nd district (2019–present) ^[20]

Endorsements

Gino Bulso

State legislators

• Jay Reedy, state representative from the 74th district (2015–present) ^[16]

Jody Barrett

Organizations

• House Freedom Fund ^[21]

Lee Reeves

State legislators

• Jack Johnson, state senator from the 27th district ^[22]
• Jake McCalmon, state representative from the 63th district (2023–present)
• Aron Maberry, state representative from the 68th district (2025–present) ^[18]

Local officials

• Rogers Anderson, Williamson County Mayor
• Glenn Jacobs, Knox County Mayor ^[22]
• Dr. Ken Moore, Franklin City Mayor
• Nelson Andrews, Brentwood City Mayor
• Lisa Anderson, Fairview City Mayor
• Halie Gallik, Nolensville City Mayor
• Matt Fitterer, Spring Hill City Mayor
• Brian Stover, Thompson's Station Mayor ^[23]

Organizations

• GOPAC ^[24]

Matt Van Epps

U.S. representatives

• Mark Green, former U.S. representative from Tennessee's 7th congressional district (2019–2025) ^[25]
• Jim Jordan, U.S. representative from Ohio's 4th congressional district (2007–present) ^[26]

Local officials

• Michael Lankford, Montgomery County commissioner ^[27]

Organizations

• With Honor Fund ^[28]

Fundraising

Campaign finance reports as of June 30, 2025
Candidate	Raised	Spent	Cash on hand
Matthew Van Epps (R)	$112,020	$5,852	$106,168
Source: Federal Election Commission [29]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size [a]	Margin of error	Jody Barrett	Gino Bulso	Lee Reeves	Matt Van Epps	Other	Undecided
Spry Strategies [30] [A]	August 19–23, 2025	500 (LV)	± 4.4%	10%	9%	8%	7%	8% [b]	58%

Results

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jody Barrett
	Republican	Gino Bulso
	Republican	Stuart Cooper
	Republican	Adolph Dagan
	Republican	Mason Foley
	Republican	Jason Knight
	Republican	Joe Leurs
	Republican	Stewart Parks
	Republican	Lee Reeves
	Republican	Matt Van Epps
	Republican	Tres Wittum
Total votes				100.00%

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared

• Aftyn Behn, state representative from the 51st district (2023–present) ^[5]
• Darden Copeland, consultant ^[31]
• Vincent Dixie, state representative from the 54th district (2019–present) ^[13]
• Bo Mitchell, state representative from the 50th district (2013–present) ^[32]

Declined

• Charlane Oliver, state senator from the 19th district (2023–present) ^[31]
• Megan Barry, former mayor of Nashville (2015–2018) and nominee for this district in 2024 ^[33]

Endorsements

Aftyn Behn

Organizations

• Indivisible ^[34]
• Progressive Democrats of America ^[35]

Results

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Aftyn Behn
	Democratic	Darden Copeland
	Democratic	Vincent Dixie
	Democratic	Bo Mitchell
Total votes				100.00%

Independents

Candidates

Declared

• Terri Christie, boat captain ^[36]
• Bobby Dodge ^[7]
• Robert James Sutherby ^[7]
• Jon Thorp, commercial helicopter pilot (previously ran as a Republican) ^[37]

General election

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
Sabato's Crystal Ball [38]	Likely R	July 10, 2025

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. Key:
   A – all adults
   RV – registered voters
   LV – likely voters
   V – unclear
2. Knight with 3%; Wittum with 2%; Cooper, Dagan, and Parks with 1%; Foley and Leurs with 0%

Partisan clients

1. This poll was sponsored by Americans for Prosperity Tennessee

References

1. "Rep. Mark Green Retires from the U.S. House of Representatives". June 9, 2025. Retrieved June 9, 2025.
2. Masters, Hamilton Matthew (June 9, 2025). "Rep. Mark Green Announces Resignation". Nashville Scene . Retrieved June 10, 2025.
3. 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.
4. "Secretary of State Tre Hargett Provides Timeline for Seventh Congressional District Special Election". sos.tn.gov. Tennessee Secretary of State. Retrieved July 24, 2025.
5. Rau, Nate (July 7, 2025). "Race to replace Rep. Mark Green gets crowded quickly". Axios . Retrieved July 7, 2025.
6. Masters, Hamilton Matthew (July 28, 2025). "State Rep. Gino Bulso Launches 7th Congressional District Bid". Nashville Scene . Retrieved July 28, 2025.
7. Reeves, Cheri (August 12, 2025). "Candidates qualify for 7th Congressional District special election". Main Street Media of Tennessee. Retrieved August 13, 2025.
8. Reeves, Cheri (August 12, 2025). "Candidates qualify for 7th Congressional District special election". Main Street Media of Tennessee. Retrieved August 13, 2025.
9. Reeves, Cheri (August 12, 2025). "Candidates qualify for 7th Congressional District special election". Main Street Media of Tennessee. Retrieved August 13, 2025.
10. "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
11. 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.
12. Reeves, Cheri (August 12, 2025). "Candidates qualify for 7th Congressional District special election". Main Street Media of Tennessee. Retrieved August 13, 2025.
13. Stockard, Sam (July 15, 2025). "Congressional candidates dropping, adding in Tennessee District 7 race". Tennessee Lookout. Retrieved July 15, 2025.
14. Nir, David (July 8, 2025). "Morning Digest: A senior House Democrat lands a primary challenger after health scares". The Downballot. Retrieved July 9, 2025.
15. 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.
16. 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.
17. Smith, Chris (July 9, 2025). "2 more state legislators step up to run for Mark Green's seat in Congress" . Retrieved July 11, 2025.
18. Schelzig, Erik (July 14, 2025). "Green endorses Van Epps for 7th District seat, Maberry backs fellow state Rep. Reeves" . Retrieved August 13, 2025.
19. Schelzig, Erik (August 13, 2025). "Six state representatives join 7th Congressional District race" . Retrieved August 13, 2025.
20. Smith, Chris (June 18, 2025). "State Sen. Bill Powers decides not to run to replace Mark Green in Congress" . Retrieved June 22, 2025.
21. Nir, David; Singer, Jeff (September 4, 2025). "Morning Digest: Suddenly, Maine has a three-way Senate primary" . Retrieved September 4, 2025.
22. "Lee Reeves Picks Up Notable Endorsements from Tennessee Republican Leaders". Tennessee Star . Retrieved September 8, 2025.
23. Reports, Herald (July 17, 2025). "All 7 mayors in Williamson County endorse Lee Reeves for Congress". Williamson Herald. Retrieved August 16, 2025.
24. Housler, Kaitlin (September 8, 2025). "GOPAC Election Fund Endorses TN-7 Candidate Lee Reeves". Tennessee Star. Retrieved September 17, 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. "Montgomery County Commissioner Michael Lankford Endorses Matt Van Epps for Congress". Clarksville Online. August 28, 2025. Retrieved August 30, 2025.
28. "Endorsed Candidates". With Honor Fund III. Retrieved September 10, 2025.
29. "2026 Election United States House – Tennessee 7th". Federal Election Commission . Retrieved July 18, 2025.
30. 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.
31. Stockard, Sam (June 12, 2025). "More candidates enter field to replace Green in Tennessee's 7th District". Tennessee Lookout . Retrieved June 13, 2025.
32. Rau, Nate (July 7, 2025). "Race to replace Rep. Mark Green gets crowded quickly". Axios . Retrieved July 7, 2025.
33. 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.
34. Friedman, Adam (September 10, 2025). "Democrats spar over electability at Tennessee Congressional District 7 forum". Tennessee Lookout . Retrieved September 11, 2025.
35. "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.
36. Reeves, Cheri (August 12, 2025). "Candidates qualify for 7th Congressional District special election". Main Street Media of Tennessee. Retrieved August 13, 2025.
37. Reeves, Cheri (August 12, 2025). "Candidates qualify for 7th Congressional District special election". Main Street Media of Tennessee. Retrieved August 13, 2025.
38. 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

• Jody Barrett (R) for Congress
• Aftyn Behn (D) for Congress
• Gino Bulso (R) for Congress
• Stuart Cooper (R) for Congress
• Darden Copeland (D) for Congress
• Vincent Dixie (D) for Congress
• Mason Foley (R) for Congress
• Jason Knight (R) for Congress
• Joe Leurs (R) for Congress
• Bo Mitchell (D) for Congress
• Stewart Parks (R) for Congress
• Jay Reedy (R) for Congress
• Lee Reeves (R) for Congress
• Jon Thorp (I) for Congress
• Matt Van Epps (R) for Congress
• Tres Wittum (R) for Congress