Tennessee particular election outcomes gasoline debate over 2026 midterms

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The outcomes from the hotly contested particular election in Tennessee’s seventh Congressional District are in, handing a decisive victory to Republicans. However each Republicans and Democrats are drawing political ammunition from the result.

President Donald Trump proclaimed it was a “nice evening for the Republican Social gathering!!!” after GOP nominee Matt Van Epps defeated Democratic rival Aftyn Behn within the high-stakes race to succeed former GOP Rep. Mark Inexperienced, who resigned from workplace in June to take a personal sector job.

However Democratic Nationwide Committee (DNC) Chair Ken Martin, pointing to Van Epps roughly 9-point margin in a solidly-red district Trump carried by 22-points a yr in the past, argued that “Democrats are on offense and Republicans are on the ropes.”

With the GOP clinging to a razor-thin majority within the Home, the particular election was seen as a must-win for Republicans. And now, each events are drawing conclusions on what the outcomes imply for subsequent yr’s midterm elections, when the Home majority is up for grabs.

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And there is a divide amongst Democrats, with moderates questioning whether or not Behn, who was dubbed the “AOC of Tennessee” in a comparability to progressive champion Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, was too far to the left for the district — which is positioned in central and western Tennessee, stretching from Kentucky to Alabama, and together with elements of Nashville.

With a lot on the road, outdoors teams aligned with each events shelled out hundreds of thousands of {dollars} to run adverts within the race. And the DNC and the rival Republican Nationwide Committee (RNC) every poured assets into the showdown, which included dispatching staffers onto the marketing campaign path.

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Home Speaker Mike Johnson spent your complete day on Election Eve with Van Epps, becoming a member of the GOP nominee at a slew of rallies and stops throughout the district. He was joined by RNC Chair Joe Gruters.

Van Epps, a army fight veteran who piloted helicopters and former commissioner of the Tennessee Division of Basic Companies, stated in his victory speech that his win “represented a defining second for Tennessee and for the route of the nation.” 

And Van Epps instructed Fox Information Digital that his win was “a convincing victory.”

Trump, whose endorsement of Van Epps helped the candidate win the GOP nomination in a aggressive main final month, described Tuesday’s victory as a “BIG Congressional WIN.”

And Van Epps instructed supporters at his Election Evening watch social gathering that “we’re grateful to the President for his unwavering help that charted this motion and catapulted us to victory. President Trump was all-in with us. That made the distinction.”

Whereas falling wanting flipping the seat, which might have been catastrophic for the GOP, Democrats see a silver lining.

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“Aftyn Behn’s overperformance on this Trump +22 district is historic and a flashing warning signal for Republicans heading into the midterms,” Martin argued. “The truth that Republicans spent hundreds of thousands to guard this Trump +22 district and nonetheless misplaced a lot floor ought to have the GOP shaking of their boots. Democrats are all gasoline and no brakes as we head into subsequent yr, organizing in every single place and competing in elections throughout the nation.”

And Behn, a state consultant and former healthcare group organizer, instructed Fox Information Digital on Election Day that “what begins right here modifications this nation.”

Requested if she could be a winner even with out successful the election, she stated, “For me, we have already gained over the hearts and minds of so many Tennesseans and throughout the nation.”

However Republicans dispute the Democrats’ narrative.

“Particular elections are unusual as a result of lots of people take as a right in a deep pink district like this that the Republican is simply going to win mechanically. Nothing’s automated,” Johnson instructed Fox Information Digital at a Van Epps rally on the eve of the election.

And Johnson pointed to Rep. Ron Estes of Kansas, who narrowly gained a particular election in 2017, simply 5 months after Trump carried the district by almost 30 factors in his 2016 White Home victory. Estes went on to win re-election within the 2018 midterms by 19 factors.

Just a few months after Estes victory, Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina gained a 2017 particular election by 3 factors in a district Trump carried by 17 factors the earlier November. However Norman went on to win re-election within the ensuing midterms by 16 factors.

Johnson, aiming to inspire low-propensity Trump supporters, who typically do not vote when the president’s not on the poll, emphasised that “we want everyone to end up.”

Turnout in particular elections is usually low, however that wasn’t the case on Tuesday. In line with unofficial outcomes, roughly 180,000 votes had been solid, near the turnout within the district within the 2022 midterms, when Inexperienced gained re-election by over 20 factors.

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Whereas Democrats are assured that the leads to Tennessee, together with their decisive victories final month within the 2025 elections, are an indication of issues to return within the 2026 midterms, Johnson instructed Fox Information’ Chad Pergram on Wednesday that “now we have an awesome document to run on in ’26. And I am very bullish in regards to the midterms. I am satisfied we will defy historical past and develop this majority.”

Whereas Behn was laser targeted on the problems of affordability and healthcare throughout her marketing campaign, Republicans blasted her as a “radical” and highlighted previous controversial feedback she made.

“She doesn’t symbolize the values of Tennessee or of America. She is as far left as you may get. She’s a radical,” Van Epps claimed in a Fox Information Digital interview.

Johnson argued on Monday that Behn was a “radical” and “a harmful far leftist. And he or she will likely be a rubber stamp for Hakeem Jeffries and AOC and all of the radicals in Congress.”

Simon Bazelon of the Welcome PAC, a Democrat-aligned group which advocates for reasonable candidates, known as Behn “a missed alternative.”

“Democrats in pink districts can’t simply speak affordability and hope voters do not discover they stroll left on all the pieces else. If candidates do not match their district, Republicans will be sure the voters know. Regardless of a well-run race and vital funding, Tennessee voters knew Aftyn Behn didn’t share their views,” he argued.

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However Behn, hours earlier than the election was known as, instructed Fox Information Digital, “I feel the citizens is shifting to just accept a candidate like me that has a progressive observe document.”

And Behn stated she’s seen “so many younger folks coming as much as me to say they’re working for workplace as a result of this race has impressed them to take action.”

Fox Information’ Asher Redd contributed to this story.