Republican Matt Van Epps holds deep-red House district in Tennessee special election

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

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.

While Behn had an advantage among people who voted early, Van Epps prevailed by running up the score in votes cast on Election Day itself — suggesting Republican efforts to ramp up turnout were successful.