Aftyn Behn Will Run Again Next Year After Close Race In TN-7

Republicans avoided a nightmare in Tennessee, but their electoral picture is still scary.
By Susie Madrak — December 3, 2025

Let me put it this way. Aftyn Behn didn't win, but she put up strong enough numbers that Republicans are going doo-doo in their big boy pants this morning. Look for more GOP members to suddenly want to spend more time with their families! Via CNN:

Republicans avoided disaster on Tuesday night by winning a special election in a solidly red Tennessee congressional district.

But the single-digit race there is merely the latest in an unambiguously troubling series of recent election results for President Donald Trump’s party 11 months before the 2026 midterm elections.

Republican Rep.-elect Matt Van Epps led Democrat Aftyn Behn by about nine points with 95% of the vote counted.

That’s in a district that Trump carried by 22 points and former GOP Rep. Mark Green won by more than 21 points last year.

That means that, as things stand, Behn over-performed Democrats’ 2024 presidential margin by about 13 points and their 2024 House margin by about 12 points.

Bad news: Aftyn Behn lost.
Good news: It was close. She's not giving up. We're getting another chance next November. And MAGA is scared.
We can't win them all. That is okay. Let's get up and do our shit.
Keep going.

— Former Antifa Member (@maga-fafo.bsky.social) 2025-12-03T07:36:43.604Z

Aftyn Behn Didn’t Win, but Republicans Just Lost Everything
open.substack.com/pub/isaiahrm...

— (@migas7.bsky.social) 2025-12-03T07:26:15.203Z

Aftyn Behn outperformed 2024 Democratic metrics in every county in the TN-07 special election.
District-wide shift: ~12-13 pts leftward
Key County Shifts Towards Democrats:
◀️Davidson Co: ~25 pts
◀️Cheatham Co: ~17 pts
◀️Humphreys & Dickson Cos: ~12 pts
◀️Montgomery Co: ~10 pts

— Luthando Gxobisa (@goldenjabari.bsky.social) 2025-12-03T06:16:31.644Z

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