Matt Van Epps

Last updated

Meg Wrather
​
(m. 2023)​
Matt Van Epps
Matt Van Epps official portrait.jpg
Official portrait, 2025
Member of the U.S.HouseofRepresentatives
from Tennessee's 7th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
December 4, 2025
Children1
Education United States Military Academy (BS)
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (MPA)
Website House website
Campaign website
Military service
Branch/service
Years of service2005–2015
2015–present (guard)
Rank Lieutenant Colonel
Unit 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne)
Battles/wars
Awards Air Medal

Matthew Robert Van Epps [1] (born March 29, 1983) is an American politician and former Army officer serving as the U.S representative for Tennessee's 7th congressional district since December 2025. A member of the Republican Party, he was elected in the 2025 special election. [2] He previously served as the commissioner of the Tennessee Department of General Services from 2024 to 2025. [3] [4] He was sworn-in on December 4, 2025. [5]

Contents

Early life and education

Matthew Robert Van Epps was born in March 1983. He graduated from Mentor High School in Mentor, Ohio, where he played baseball, football, and was a member of the National Honor Society. [6] After leaving the Army, Van Epps obtained a master's degree in public administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. [7] [8]

Military service

Van Epps graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 2005 and commissioned into the Army as an aviation officer, serving on active duty for ten years. He serve as Lieutenant Colonel in Tennessee Army National Guard. During his military career, he was awarded the Air Medal with "V" device, the Bronze Star, and the Meritorious Service Medal. [3] [9]

Political career

Van Epps was appointed commissioner of the Tennessee Department of General Services by Governor Bill Lee, serving from 2024 to 2025. [3] On June 10, 2025, he resigned from his post to run in the 2025 special election for Tennessee's 7th congressional district, following the resignation of U.S. representative Mark Green. [10]

U.S. House of Representatives

2025 special election

Matt Van Epps when he was nominated in October 2025 Matt Van Epps 2025.jpg
Matt Van Epps when he was nominated in October 2025

Shortly after announcing his campaign, Van Epps received endorsements from both Green and Governor Lee. [9] [11] The 7th district seat, considered a solid Republican district by the Cook Political Report, covers much of Middle Tennessee, including Clarksville, portions of Nashville, and western Williamson County. [11]

In October 2025, President Donald Trump endorsed Van Epps in the Republican primary for the 7th district, describing him as a "MAGA warrior" and a "combat-decorated Army helicopter pilot." [11] Trump’s endorsement came four days before the primary election and was followed by the withdrawal of state representative Lee Reeves, who publicly suspended his campaign and endorsed Van Epps. [12]

The Republican primary initially featured 11 candidates, including state representatives Jody Barrett, Gino Bulso, and Reeves, who were considered frontrunners before the endorsement. Following Trump's announcement, most outside spending in the race focused on Van Epps and Barrett. [11] [12]

Van Epps won the Republican primary with 51.6% of the vote on October 7, 2025, [13] [14] and defeated the Democratic nominee Aftyn Behn in the December 2 special election, with roughly 54% of the popular vote. [2]

Tenure

Van Epps was sworn into office on December 4, 2025. [15]

Personal life

Van Epps lives in Nashville, Tennessee. [16] He and his wife, Meg, have one daughter. [17] [18]

Electoral history

Republican primary results [19]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Matt Van Epps 19,006 51.56%
Republican Jody Barrett 9,33725.33%
Republican Gino Bulso 4,00510.86%
Republican Lee Reeves (withdrawn)1,9295.23%
Republican Mason Foley1,0222.77%
Republican Stewart Parks5951.61%
Republican Jason Knight3811.03%
Republican Stuart Cooper2390.65%
Republican Tres Wittum1330.36%
Republican Joe Leurs1220.33%
Republican Adolph Dagan930.25%
Total votes36,862 100.00%
2025 Tennessee's 7th congressional district special election [20]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Republican Matt Van Epps 96,988 53.91% −5.59
Democratic Aftyn Behn 81,04445.05%+7.00
Independent Jon Thorp9320.52%N/A
Independent Terri Christie6100.34%N/A
Independent Bobby Dodge1960.11%N/A
Independent Robert Sutherby1290.07%N/A
Total votes179,899 100.00%
Republican hold

References

  1. ↑ "VAN EPPS, MATTHEW ROBERT – Candidate overview". FEC.gov. Federal Election Commission. January 1, 2023. Retrieved December 3, 2025.
  2. 1 2 Armstrong, Gene. "Live results: Tennessee House District 7 special election". CNN. Retrieved December 3, 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 Housler, Kaitlin (June 12, 2025). "Matt Van Epps Steps Away From Lee Administration to Run for TN-7 U.S. House Seat". The Tennessee Star . Retrieved July 16, 2025.
  4. ↑ Jarrett, Kim (June 11, 2025). "First candidate for Green's congressional seat announces". The Center Square . Retrieved July 16, 2025.
  5. ↑ Lee Hill, Meredith. "Van Epps sworn in". Politico. Politico. Retrieved December 4, 2025.
  6. ↑ Jones, Vivian. "From a wealthy Cleveland suburb to Afghanistan to Nashville, who is Matt Van Epps?". The Tennessean. Retrieved December 3, 2025.
  7. ↑ "Congressional candidate. Matt Van Epps – R Tennessee – Previously held positions". LegiStorm . Retrieved August 2, 2025.
  8. ↑ "Matt Van Epps, MPA | LinkedIn". LinkedIn. Retrieved December 2, 2025.
  9. 1 2 "Mark Green endorses Matt Van Epps in Tennessee race". WZTV . July 14, 2025. Retrieved July 16, 2025.
  10. ↑ "Van Epps annouces bid for Green seat in Congress, steps down from Lee Cabinet". StateAffairs.com. June 10, 2025. Retrieved July 16, 2025.
  11. 1 2 3 4 "Trump endorses Van Epps in Middle Tennessee U.S House race, Reeves drops out • Tennessee Lookout". Tennessee Lookout. Retrieved October 7, 2025.
  12. 1 2 Taylor, Sarah Grace (October 4, 2025). "Donald Trump backs Matt Van Epps; another GOP contender drops out". Nashville Banner. Retrieved October 7, 2025.
  13. ↑ "Tennessee Seventh Congressional District Special Primary Election Results 2025". The New York Times. October 7, 2025. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved October 8, 2025.
  14. ↑ "Tennessee House Primary Special Results 2025 Live Results". NBC News. October 8, 2025. Retrieved October 8, 2025.
  15. ↑ Lee Hill, Meredith. "Inside Congress Live Dec 4, 2025". Politico. Retrieved December 4, 2025.
  16. ↑ "Gov. Lee Announces Key Leadership Transition at TN Department of General Services". tn.gov. Office of the Governor. October 7, 2025. Retrieved September 16, 2024.
  17. ↑ Smith, Chris (October 7, 2025). "'Tonight is not the finish line, it's halfime': Matt Van Epps wins Republican bid to Congress". Clarksville Now. Retrieved October 7, 2025.
  18. ↑ "Meet Matt Van Epps". Matt Van Epps for Congress. Retrieved October 7, 2025.
  19. ↑ "United States House of Representatives District 7 Republican Primary" (PDF). elections.tn.gov. October 8, 2025. Retrieved October 8, 2025.
  20. ↑ Hargett, Tre (December 2, 2025). "United States House of Representatives District 7". Tennessee Secretary of State. Retrieved December 3, 2025.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.