Congressman-elect Matt Van Epps won the Dec. 2 special election to represent Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives, defeating Tennessee State Representative and Democratic nominee Aftyn Behn. The Associated Press called the election for Van Epps at 8:37 p.m. CST that same night, when about 85% of the vote had been counted.
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee issued a writ of election following the resignation of former U.S. Rep. Mark Green on June 9, who resigned in order to begin a position in the private sector. Voters selected Van Epps and Behn as the Republican and Democratic nominees in the primary elections on Oct. 7.
The election gained nationwide attention for a number of reasons. Polling released late in the campaign projected a close result in the wake of victories by candidates associated with the Democratic Party on Nov. 4. Even though Van Epps won the election, his margin of victory was significantly smaller than President Donald Trump’s margin during the 2024 presidential election.
This also would have been a significant victory for the Democratic Party if Behn won, as her election would have decreased the number of seats held by the Republican Party in the U.S. House of Representatives and introduced a razor-thin partisan divide following the incoming resignation of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene in January 2026.
Post-primary campaigning
Van Epps, who was endorsed by state and federal leaders such as Lee and Trump, campaigned alongside leading Republican politicians in the weeks leading up to the election.
Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson visited the district Dec. 1 to campaign for Van Epps. During a campaign event, Trump made a surprise appearance via a phone call to Johnson.
“Get out and vote, and let’s make it a sweeping victory,” Trump said. “The whole world is watching Tennessee right now.”
Van Epps’ campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Behn saw significant support from fellow Democratic politicians across the country. In the days leading up to the election, Al Gore, the former vice president during Bill Clinton’s presidency and a Tennessee native, and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez joined a virtual event in support of Behn’s campaign. Former Vice President Kamala Harris campaigned on Nov. 18 with the Tennessee Democratic Party.
Behn’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
On-campus engagement
Junior Anjuli Irvin, vice president of VandyVotes, said the organization hosted events relevant to many students’ top priorities while casting a ballot, such as the economy and threats to democracy.
“Many students are also concerned about gerrymandering and threats to democracy; in fact, Vandy Votes co-hosted an event this semester called ‘Perspectives on Gerrymandering and Democracy in Tennessee and Beyond,’ which received a lot of visibility from students,” Irvin said. “Threats to democracy such as gerrymandering can often make students more apathetic towards voting if they feel their vote doesn’t matter.”
Irvin said VandyVotes also hosted voter outreach initiatives, such as postcard writing with the League of Women Voters and text banking with Civic Tennessee, to ensure voters were aware of the special election.
“We hosted a postcard party with the League of Women Voters, sending postcards to potential voters in district 7 encouraging them to vote. Also, we hosted a text banking event with Civic Tennessee, sending non-partisan texts to voters in district 7 encouraging them to vote,” Irvin said. “We have promoted canvassing and phone banking opportunities to members of Vandy Votes ahead of the election as well. Lastly, we tabled outside Rand and registered people to vote.”
Women in Government hosted Behn at an event in Buttrick Hall on Nov. 19, approximately two weeks prior to the election. Behn spoke with Vanderbilt students about her experience in politics, the influence of younger and Southern voters and the role that the election results would play on the national level.
Vanderbilt College Democrats and Vanderbilt College Republicans did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Junior Arnav Sakhrani said in a message to The Hustler he wanted Aftyn Behn to win the special election. He said the nationwide focus on a local congressional election in Tennessee made him excited.
“I think this is a very important election for Tennessee and particularly Vanderbilt students. Aftyn Behn’s focus on affordability is something that could truly benefit Vanderbilt students,” Sakhrani said. “Additionally, as someone who votes [D]emocrat, it’s hard to feel that my vote matters in [Tennessee]. This election changed that, as I feel [D]emocrats really do have a shot at flipping this congressional seat, and that has made me really excited to get involved in this election. It’s also been interesting to see the national coverage of this election. It really makes it feel like we’re part of something bigger.”
