JUST IN: Republican Matt Van Epps is expected to win Tennessee's 7th District by just 7 points, a district Trump won by 22 points in 2024.
Here are the shifts by county compared to the 2024 presidential election:
Davidson: 25 points to the left.
Dickson: 12 points to the left.… pic.twitter.com/WWyLHopcPn— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) December 3, 2025
Republican Matt Van Epps holds deep-red House district in Tennessee special election
Van Epps defeated Democrat Aftyn Behn, NBC News projects, after an expensive campaign to replace former Rep. Mark Green.
Republican Matt Van Epps has won a hotly contested special election for a deep-red congressional seat in Tennessee, NBC News projects, seeing off a Democratic challenge for the longtime GOP district.
Though President Donald 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 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.
But Democrats did significantly cut the GOP margin in the district from just a year ago. With most of the expected vote counted, Van Epps had a 9-point districtwide lead. It continues a pattern of Democrats making big gains in elections this year compared to the 2024 results.