In a bold bid to flip Tennessee's deeply Republican 7th District, national heavyweights have rallied behind Democratic congressional candidate Aftin Behn, riding on the momentum of the Nov. 4 election in what could be the nation's only red-to-blue House flip this year.
On Nov. 8, Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin stood in the back of a pickup truck in the parking lot of Charlotte Park Elementary School in Nashville and gathered a crowd of 85 canvassers to energize voters.
Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin speaks to a crowd of about 85 canvassers knocking down doors for Democratic Congressional candidate Aftin Ben at Charlotte Park Elementary School on November 8, 2025.
“Anyone who is within 16 points right now is within striking distance,” Martin told the crowd. “And Aftyn is not only within striking distance, she is about to make it happen with your help.”
Ben, a Nashville Democrat, will face Republican Matt Van Epps in the Dec. 2 general election to fill the empty seat left by U.S. Rep. Mark Green in this year's last election.
Redrawn in 2021, the 7th District includes Clarksville and parts of North and West Nashville and extends to the Alabama border.
“In Aftyn Ben there is someone who knows—as a social worker, as a community organizer, as a representative—someone who understands the struggles of ordinary everyday Tennesseans; people who want hope, people who want a champion,” Martin told the crowd.
Democratic Congressional candidate Aftin Ben launches a door knocking event with Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin at Charlotte Park Elementary School on November 8, 2025.
The result could change the balance of power in the US House of Representatives, where Republicans currently cling to a narrow six-seat majority.
“Some of the reddest parts of this area are really under threat right now,” Martin told The Tennessean. “What we saw on Tuesday night is typical of even the most ardent Trump supporters. Democrats are energized, motivated and ready to take this country back.”
But it won't be easy.
Even with new support from national Democratic circles, the numbers don't lie: Tennessee's 7th Congressional District is considered reliably Republican. Last year, U.S. Rep. Mark Green was re-elected by a 22-point margin.
Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin begins a campaign event with 7th Congressional District Aftin Ben at Charlotte Park Elementary School in Nashville on November 8, 2025.
Tennessee Republicans increased attention to the candidate from Tuesday, November 4I'm calling Benradical” for campaigning with U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, a Texas Democrat and claiming that Ben wants to “return to Soviet-era politics.”»
On November 7, Ben and Crockett held a joint meeting at Watson Grove Baptist Church in Nashville. Crockett was scheduled to appear in person but was unable to do so due to air travel delays and cancellations across the country. Those present were still delighted.
“If Nov. 4 was a preview of things to come, I can't wait to see what happens in less than 30 days, right here in Tennessee,” Crockett told the crowd in church pews via teleconference from her shoe closet.
The crowd roared.
“We've been called long-haulers, but I tell you what, Tennessee loves to take risks,” Ben said at the town hall. “We can turn this 'safe red' place into the most competitive place in America.”
Tennessee Democrats have been organizing and campaigning in the 7th District for months, seeking to energize the Democratic base left behind by partisan gerrymandering in 2021. Organizers are fueled by Democratic victories this week in smaller polls.
Tennessee Democratic Party Chairwoman Rachel Campbell said she sees growing support in the state for Volunteers.
“If you look at what happened in Virginia, where every county moved to the left, that's what we're seeing here now,” Campbell said. “This energy is great on a national level and it really helps us create energy and fire here.”
Democrats Double Down on Tennessee and the South
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has been in the race for next year's 5th Congressional District for months..
“The National Party is starting to realize that we have lost the South and without the South there is no future. So they are organizing again and we are all happy about it,” Campbell said. “Everything is changing.”
Saturday marked Martin's second trip to Tennessee this year and third as party chairman. He was last in Nashville in July to headline the state Democratic Party's annual fundraiser.
“The fact that we have national surrogates in this state for the first time in many years shows that the National Party and national Democrats care about what is happening right here in Tennessee,” Campbell said.
National Democratic Party strategists are working on the long game. As the population shifts toward the southern United States (Tennessee is one of the most displaced states in the country), electoral votes will also shift.
“When we get to reapportionment in 2032, states like Tennessee and other states in the South will have more power,” Martin said. “States in the North like Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New York, Rhode Island and California, as well as in the West, will lose electoral votes and congressional power, all the way to places like Tennessee.”
Martin said a strong presence in Tennessee is important not only for the 7th District race, but as part of the foundation for competitiveness in the South.
“You have to go where the puck is going to be, not where it is. Why does Tennessee matter? This is important because in just seven years it will become the new power center of national politics. The next presidential race in 2032 will be in the South,” Martin said.
Democratic congressional candidate Aftin Ben speaks at a town hall with U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett at Watson Grove Baptist Church in Nashville on November 7.
Crockett said voters need to “have faith and do the work.”
“I remember a time when no one thought Georgia had the ability to elect not just one Democratic senator, but two,” Crockett told The Tennessean after the town hall. “I hope that after Tuesday the rest of the country feels the same way about Tennessee.”
7th Congressional District candidate Aftin Ben teaches newcomers how to engage with voters at Charlotte Park Elementary School in Nashville on November 8, 2025.
Campbell said Ben's experience as an organizer has contributed to the revitalization that has already been taking place in the state party over the past few years.
“For the first time in years, we hosted all 95 of our county parties because the momentum was already there. It happened long before Tuesday,” Campbell said.
Rep. Aftin Ben, D-Nashville, begins a day of canvassing in Dixon with the Dixon County Democratic Party and volunteers on November 1, 2025.
“Being able to be in an election where you think, ‘Oh my God, we can win. We can do this.” It's been really educational for my spirit and my soul and it gives me a lot of hope for where we're going to go forward,” she added.
National Democrats are also weighing in on Ben's opponent, Matt Van Epps, who was endorsed Nov. 6 by fellow Tennessee Republican U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles.
Matt Van Epps accused Ben of being “even more radical” than New York mayor-elect Zoran Mamdani.
Democratic Congressional Committee officials denied this in a Nov. 7 press release, which said Van Epps' “endorsement” was “from an individual under federal investigation.” Ogles' phone was confiscated by the FBI last year as part of an investigation he believed involved his campaign finance documents.
Ben highlights healthcare costs
Ben joined U.S. Senators Amy Klobachar of Minnesota and Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island at a press conference to raise awareness about the impact of expiring COVID-19-era health insurance tax credits on Tennesseans on November 6th.
Congress is deadlocked over increasing tax subsidies that are set to expire at the end of the year. Costs expected to rise sharply when they expire, making coverage unaffordable for 200,000 Tennesseans, according to analysis of the non-partisan Platan Institute.
According to sycamore analysis. In 2021, about 212,000 Tennesseans had plans through the Marketplace, and today about 643,000 Tennesseans buy health insurance through the Marketplace.
Tennessee State Representative Aftin Ben speaks to the audience before the start of a Democratic Party forum for candidates running in the special election for the 7th Congressional District at the Fairview Recreation Center in Fairview on Sunday, September 7, 2025.
“I have a lot of working musicians who rely on the ACA in Nashville and wouldn’t be able to get health care without it,” Ben said.
In Davidson County, health insurance premiums could rise sharply if federal subsidies expire, Ben said, adding the increase could be as much as 281%, from $498 to $1,800 a month for some family plans.
Ben emphasized the urgency by sharing the story of a Republican voter in Clarksville who, faced with blackout coverage, said he might vote for a Democrat for the first time.
“This is not about politics,” she said he told her. “It's about survival.”
Vivian Jones covers state government and politics for The Tennessean. Contact her at [email protected].
This article originally appeared in Nashville, Tennessee: Democrats aim to turn red seat blue in showdown in Tennessee's 7th Congressional District
