Trump-backed candidate Matt Van Epps wins crowded GOP primary in Tennessee for vacant House seat

President Donald Trump's chosen candidate, Matt Van Epps, on Tuesday night won the Republican nomination for a vacant House seat in Tennessee.

Trump reminded voters earlier Tuesday to cast their ballots for Van Epps, who is running in a special election to replace former House Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green in Tennessee's seventh congressional district.

Van Epps defeated 10 other Republican candidates with 48.9% of the vote, according to the Associated Press. He is the only candidate to secure Trump's backing and was also endorsed by Green and House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan.

The nominee, a former active duty combat pilot in the U.S. Army and current lieutenant colonel in the Tennessee Army National Guard, now advances to the special general election on Dec. 2. 

Van Epps is running in a conservative district that Trump carried with more than 60% of the vote in 2024, NBC News reported. 

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.