Republican Matt Van Epps projected to win in Tennessee special election for vacant House seat

Republican Matt Van Epps has won the special congressional election in Tennessee Tuesday night over Democrat Aftyn Behn in Tennessee for a vacant House seat, as the Associated Press has projected. 

With 99% of the vote counted, Van Epps has 53.9% of the vote, and Behn has 45%.

The special election to replace retired Republican Rep. Mark Green in Tennessee's 7th congressional district was another test along the way to next year’s midterm elections in which all 435 seats in the House of Representatives are up for grabs. 

Following last month’s off-year elections, in which Democrats did well in New York, Virginia, New Jersey and Georgia, this was the next big race. It is a district that Donald Trump won in 2024 by over 20 points. 

Behn, a progressive Tennessee state representative, has been referred to as the Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of Nashville. Van Epps was a combat veteran and former commissioner of the Tennessee Department of General Services.