"V" for Van Epps

From Megan Podsiedlik

Victory by the numbers: Republican nominee Matt Van Epps won a decisive victory over Democratic nominee Aftyn Behn to replace Mark Green in Tennessee’s Seventh Congressional District last night. Almost 180,000 people pulled the lever in this year’s special, off-cycle election. The total turnout was about 44 percent lower compared to 2024, when Green landed his last D-7 victory during a presidential election year.

Van Epps received about 54 percent of the votes compared to Behn’s 45 percent. In 2024, 60 percent of voters turned out for Green, while only 38 percent voted for the Democratic nominee, Megan Barry. Over 40 percent of Behn’s votes came from Davidson County, reinforcing Nashville as a stronghold for the state representative.

Bellwether pipe dreams: Last night, both candidates acknowledged the significance of this race and the tone it could set for the upcoming 2026 elections. Behn seemed to play her part, highlighting how the Democratic Party cut into the margin held by Republicans in Tennessee’s seventh congressional district. 

“The result is not what we wanted tonight, but I think we've inspired a lot of people to get involved in politics,” Behn told WSMV. "But if that's not a legacy, I don't know what is.”

Though Democrats hope to drum up momentum after securing a slimmer defeat compared to D-7’s 2024 race, Van Epps put that talking point to bed during his victory speech. 

“Running from Trump is how you lose. Running with Trump is how you win,” said Van Epps, who vowed to stand with the president upon taking office as Tennessee’s newest representative. 

Final thoughts from the candidates: After being introduced by Governor Bill Lee during last night’s election party, Matt Van Epps laid the groundwork for his leadership style, telegraphing what we can expect from him in office. “Tonight, you sent a message loud and clear: the people of Middle Tennessee stand with President Donald J. Trump,” he said. 

Van Epps continued by lovingly acknowledging his wife and newborn child before reinforcing his commitment to all District Seven Tennesseans. “I will work hard to earn your trust,” he said. “Our office will always be open to all constituents.”

Meanwhile, Aftyn Behn, flanked by other public figures who’ve attempted to chip away at Republican dominance in Tennessee—such as Odessa Kelly—played the underdog during her concession speech. “I’m so, so proud of the race that we won,” she said. “The Republicans have made these districts to be uncompetitive.” She went on to reiterate that this is “only the beginning, not the end.”

According to reports by WSMV, Behn attempted to push her policy prescriptions onto Van Epps during a phone call to the congressman-elect. While conceding, she asked Van Epps to continue the subsidies for the Affordable Care Act.

Key takeaways: This special election was likely the only chance for Democrats to plant a flag in D-7. Come 2026, it’s more likely that Tennesseans will see another competitive showdown between Republican candidates during D-7 primaries than it is to see a Democratic victory. That said, it exposed Tennessee GOP's need to thoughtfully assess their ground game, address voter apathy, and engage with grassroots efforts.

Join Us On December 10th for an evening with writer Aaron Renn. Renn's recent book, Life in the Negative World, talks about being a Christian in a culture hostile to Christianity.

At our event, he will discuss this in addition to the crisis of civic leadership plaguing cities like Nashville. Aaron runs a very popular Substack, has written for The Guardian, The Wall Street Journal, and The Atlantic and was recently profiled in the New York Times. Currently, he's a Senior Fellow at American Reformer.

This is the first in a new series of monthly lectures we'll be hosting. Paying subscribers receive free access to this and future events. (Buy Tickets)

• 🚙 The Boring Company will start tunneling under Nashville to build the Music City Loop starting on December 15. The initial airport-to-downtown tunnel will carry 20,000-30,000 people per hour and have 20 stations.

  MCL Blog

• ✈️ No Real ID? The Transportation Security Administration will start charging you a $45 fee starting February 1, 2026 if you don’t have an acceptable alternative form of ID.

  TSA

• 🎄 This year's Metro Christmas tree lighting will take place on Friday, December 5 at 6:00 p.m. in Public Square Park. The 5th annual Hermitage Tree Lighting celebration will take place on Thursday, December 4 starting at 4 p.m.

  Metro Nashville

• 🤥 Aftyn Behn: "I hate country music. I hate all of the things that make Nashville apparently an ‘it’ city to the rest of the country."
  
  Also Aftyn Behn: ***Walks out to Dolly Parton's "9 to 5" in western wear during last night's concession speech.***

• New details emerge for Vanderbilt innovation district plan (Post)
• Southern Land Co. expands plan for major East Nashville development (NBJ)
• Bobby Hotel building sees $50M transaction (Post)
• Middleburg Communities files plans for 439 apartments on 14-acre MetroCenter site (NBJ)

• 📅View our calendar for the week here. Visit our On The Radar list to find upcoming events around Nashville.
• 🎧On Spotify: Pamphleteer's Picks, a playlist of our favorite bands in town this week.
• 👨🏻‍🌾Check out our Nashville farmer's market guide.

Tonight Wed, Dec 3

Today's newsletter is brought to you by Megan Podsiedlik and Camelia Brennan.