Tennessee State Rep. Aftyn Behn (D), who has been called the “AOC of Tennessee” by Fox News, is running against Republican candidate Matt Van Epps in the Volunteer State’s 7th congressional district special election on Tuesday, December 2.
Note: The special election was triggered by the resignation of Republican Mark Green, who took a private sector job after voting to pass Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Van Epps has received the endorsement of President Trump and, this week, Trump ally celebrity Kid Rock, who owns a bar and restaurant in Nashville.
In addition to the Kid Rock endorsement, Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) announced that they will host a tele-rally Monday night to support Van Epps’s campaign.
As seen below on CNN, Behn was asked if she saw the tele-rally as a positive or negative for her campaign. Behn replied: “I think it means they’re desperate.”
She added, “I see their tele-rally and raise them 10,000 doors of Republicans we’re gonna knock this weekend.”
Aftyn Behn: I don’t care who you voted for, I don’t care what political party you belong to, but if you are upset about the cost of living and the chaos of Washington, then I’m your candidate. pic.twitter.com/svjFElqGwA
— Blue Georgia (@BlueATLGeorgia) November 28, 2025
When asked about the GOP hosting a virtual event instead of traveling to Tennessee for a rally — the CNN host said of Trump and Johnson, “they couldn’t get their butts to Tennessee” — Behr laughed and replied, “Perhaps they want to keep some distance between this incredibly unpopular candidate that they’re running.”
In a district where Trump won by 22 points in the 2024 presidential election, Democrats are excited to see the two candidates “locked in a tight race” according to polls including a new Emerson College Polling/The Hill survey, which finds 48% of voters supporting Van Epps and 46% supporting Behn.