Tennessee Republican congressional candidate Matt Van Epps won Tuesday's special election in Tennessee's 7th Congressional District with 81,017 votes (52.4%), ahead of Tennessee Democratic congressional candidate Aftin Ben, who received 71,912 votes (46.5%) for 93% of the vote, according to The New York Post.
Former Tennessee Republican Rep. Mark Green resigned in July, leaving less than six months into his fourth term. 7th District, led by President Donald Trump carried away by 20 points in 2024 — has raised millions of dollars from both major political parties ahead of Tuesday's vote, even though Republicans have historically dominated the region. Van Epps eventually stored the seat is in the hands of the Republican Party.
Van Epps is a West Point graduate and former Army helicopter pilot who has trained overseas multiple times. deploymentincluding in Iraq and Afghanistan. Later he served served in the Tennessee Army National Guard, eventually rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel.
Van Epps briefly led the Tennessee Department of General Services after being appointed commissioner in late 2024 before resigning to run for Congress. He won crowded special Republican primary in October thanks to Trump's late endorsement.
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE – DECEMBER 2: A political sign supporting Democrat Aftin Ben is seen outside the polling place at Charlotte Park Elementary School on December 2, 2025 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images)
Ben is a progressive Tennessee state legislator and longtime activist who built her political profile through protests and direct action campaigns at the State Capitol. She has repeatedly taken combative stances against Tennessee's Republican leadership, including a confrontation in 2019 that led to her removal — by force — from office of Tennessee Republican Gov. Bill Lee. In another incident, she was also removed from the House of Representatives. (RELATED: Aftin Ben refuses to tell CNN whether more money for cops is good or bad)
Ben has aligned itself with far-left positions on issues such as abortion access, transgender policies and policing. She often promoted views that placed her well outside the Tennessee political mainstream. In earlier public statements and podcast appearances, she has criticized Nashville, calling Tennessee “racist state” and called for radical approaches to social policy.
“I hate the city, I hate bachelorette parties, I hate pedal steel taverns, I hate country music, I hate everything that makes Nashville apparently the 'perfect' city for the rest of the country. But I hate it,” Ben said in the interview.One year old GRITSpodcast in February 2020.
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