Van Epps won the hotly contested special election for a deep-red congressional seat in Tennessee yesterday, NBC News projects, beating back a Democratic challenge for the longtime GOP district.
Though Trump carried the 7th Congressional District by 22 points in 2024, Republican super PACs poured millions into defending the seat as Van Epps faced off against Aftyn Behn, a Democratic state representative. Democrats spent almost as much trying to capture it, as Trump’s political standing has taken a hit this year and the Democratic Party made gains in November elections in New Jersey, Virginia and other states.
Still, this red district remained reliably Republican. Van Epps, an Army veteran and former state official, ran on reliably MAGA themes and promised to continue the legacy of Mark Green, a Republican who resigned from the seat this year.