Summary (tl;dr)

Republican Matt Van Epps won the special election for Tennessee's 7th Congressional District on December 2, 2025, to fill the seat vacated by former GOP Representative Mark Green, in a race that drew national attention as a bellwether for the upcoming 2026 midterm elections.

Essential Background

The special election in Tennessee's 7th Congressional District was triggered by the resignation of Republican Representative Mark Green, who stepped down from Congress on July 20, 2025, to pursue a private sector job. Green had represented the district since 2019 and won his last re-election in 2024 by a significant margin. The 7th District, encompassing parts of Middle and West Tennessee, including some areas of Nashville, has historically been a strong Republican stronghold. However, redistricting in 2022 had incorporated a more significant Democratic population, making the district slightly less reliably Republican.

The Full Story

On December 2, 2025, Republican Matt Van Epps, a combat veteran and former state general services commissioner, defeated Democratic state representative Aftyn Behn in the special election for Tennessee's 7th Congressional District. The Associated Press projected Van Epps as the winner on Tuesday night, with 99 percent of the vote tallied, he led Behn by nearly nine percentage points. Despite Van Epps's victory, the margin was considerably narrower than anticipated in the deeply red district, where former President Donald Trump won by 22 points in 2024 and Mark Green secured a 21-point victory in the same year. The race attracted substantial national interest, with both parties pouring millions of dollars into campaigning and high-profile figures, including President Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson for Van Epps, and former Vice President Al Gore and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for Behn, engaging in last-minute rallies and phone calls.

Why It Matters

The Tennessee 7th Congressional District special election was widely seen as a crucial test of the political landscape leading into the 2026 midterm elections. While Republicans successfully held onto the seat, the significantly reduced victory margin for Van Epps—a 12-point shift compared to 2024 results—is being interpreted as a potential warning sign for the Republican Party nationally and a source of encouragement for Democrats. Democrats overperformed in this deep-red district, continuing a trend seen in other special elections this year, and view Behn's strong showing as evidence of growing voter dissatisfaction with the current economic climate and a potential "blue wave" in the upcoming midterms. The outcome also has implications for the narrow Republican majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, reinforcing the competitive nature of future electoral contests.

Geographic Location

• Tennessee, United States (location of special election for 7th Congressional District)
• Nashville, Davidson County, Tennessee, United States (portions of the 7th Congressional District, location of Van Epps's victory speech, and where some district voters reside)
• Williamson County, Tennessee, United States (county within the 7th Congressional District, where Aftyn Behn performed well)
• Montgomery County, Tennessee, United States (county within the 7th Congressional District, where Aftyn Behn performed well)