BREAKING: Winner announced in Tennessee’s special election for coveted U.S. Congress seat

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A special election was held Tuesday, to fill Tennessee’s 7th District U.S. Congress seat vacated by former GOP Rep. Mark Greene, who resigned in July.

The heated race was between Republican candidate Matt Van Epps, who was endorsed by President Donald Trump, and Democrat candidate Aftyn Behn, a radical progressive who has been caught up in a number of scandals and controversies.

With over 85 percent of the votes in, NBC News and the Associated Press have now called the race for Van Epps, who has a 6-point lead over Behn.  UPDATE: By the time 95% of the vote was in, Van Epps had an easy 8-point lead over Behn.

President Donald Trump won the district by 22 percentage points in 2024 and by 15 points in 2020.

With Republicans holding only a slim majority in the House, MAGA Inc, a Trump-supporting super PAC, had shelled out over $1 million in an effort to help Van Epps win the race. House Speaker Mike Johnson and GOP chair Joe Gruters had also traveled to Tennessee on Monday to rally voters to support Van Epps.

National Democrat party chair Ken Martin, former vice presidents Al Gore and Kamala Harris, and Democrat Socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez all rushed in to help campaign for Behn.

The district includes Nashville, Tennessee. A recording had recently surfaced in which Behn declared she literally hates the city and hates country music. She has also made comments in the past calling to defund police. Ironically, the Nashville area was the only county where Behn won a huge majority of the vote.

President Trump pushed out an urgent message on Truth Social Tuesday morning, writing, “I am asking all America First Patriots in Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District to please GET OUT AND VOTE for a phenomenal Candidate and MAGA Warrior, Matt Van Epps! You can win this Election for Matt, who has my Complete and Total Endorsement. HE WILL BE A GREAT CONGRESSMAN and, unlike his Opponent, he cherishes Christianity and Country Music — She has openly stated that she hates them both!”

In a major nail-biter, Behn was shown to be leading in the race as the results were pouring in Tuesday night.  However, Van Epps pulled ahead after over 58% of the votes were counted.

Trump congratulated Van Epps Tuesday night, writing, “Congratulations to Matt Van Epps on his BIG Congressional WIN in the Great State of Tennessee. The Radical Left Democrats threw everything at him, including Millions of Dollars. Another great night for the Republican Party!!! President DJT.”

Van Epps’ victory gives Republicans a major boost, especially after Democrats raked in multiple victories in the November election in New Jersey and Virginia.

Republicans’ majority will shrink even more in January, after Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) announced last month that she is resigning from Congress effective January 5, 2026.

Multiple polling sites on social media called the race for Van Epps ahead of mainstream media.

WATCH Van Epps’ victory speech below:

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