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Trump-backed Republican Matt Van Epps
wins US House special election in Tennessee

Original Article

Posted By: Mercedes44, 12/2/2025 10:31:09 PM

Republican Matt Van Epps won a nationally watched special election in Tennessee for a seat in the U.S. House on Tuesday, maintaining his party’s grip on the district with help from President Donald Trump. A military veteran and former state general services commissioner from Nashville, Van Epps defeated Democratic state Rep. Aftyn Behn to represent the 7th Congressional District. Behn made it a relatively close race in an overwhelmingly Republican district that Trump carried by 22 percentage points in 2024. Behn ran up a huge margin in Davidson County, which is the most Democratic county in the district and home to Nashville. But Van Epps carried the rest of the district,

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Reply 1 - Posted by: SALady 12/2/2025 10:55:43 PM (No. 2036673)
President Trump had a lot of people vote who probably seldom ever voted in elections. That is why he won huge in so many places. This was still a solid Republican district, and it was never in doubt -- no matter how the MSM tried to make it competitive. Congratulations Rep. Van Epps!!!!!
70 people like this.

Reply 2 - Posted by: jalo1951 12/2/2025 11:18:07 PM (No. 2036677)
“I hate the city, I hate the bachelorettes, I hate the pedal taverns, I hate country music, I hate all of the things that make Nashville apparently an ‘it’ city to the rest of the country. But I hate it,” she said in the podcast. Add to that she also hates any form of law and order and the people who keep us safe. Now vote for me? Didn't sound like a winning platform but a lot of people still voted for her. Never underestimate the stupidity of some voters. Glad it turned out the way it did.
93 people like this.

Reply 3 - Posted by: jollytroll 12/2/2025 11:33:55 PM (No. 2036679)
After specifically hating on Nashville, it's the one and ONLY area she won. Don't even try to figure that out, it's liberals, they don't have to make sense !-).
94 people like this.

Reply 4 - Posted by: jayjeti 12/3/2025 12:55:08 AM (No. 2036692)
Pundits have been saying this is a referendum on the midterms after the Democrats won in "Strong Democrat States." Now, the Left is whipping up their base with anti-Trump warnings of doom, and the party that is most energized can get a better turn out, but I predict the country has woke up to the Left's nonsense with the possble exception of cheating (California Reps) the DNC has an uphill battle.
40 people like this.

Reply 5 - Posted by: Strike3 12/3/2025 4:52:45 AM (No. 2036701)
Behn had that crazed look in her eye that would have made her one with AOC, Indian Lizzy, Jasmine Crockett, all of the other dem women who let their mouths run without a brain engaged. Nashville is now seperate from Tennessee, one of those artsy places like Austin Texas that draws libs from the rest of the country. This was an important win.
51 people like this.

Reply 6 - Posted by: sagman 12/3/2025 5:46:58 AM (No. 2036717)
Something I cannot wrap my head around: A day doesn't go by without seeing a column on the collapse of support for the Democratic party. And a day doesn't go by without seeing a column on the prospect of Republicans getting wiped in midterms next year. How do you reconcile this?
34 people like this.

Reply 7 - Posted by: Rather Read 12/3/2025 5:55:24 AM (No. 2036718)
I live near Tennessee. My mother was from Tennessee. I love to visit there and if I had to leave Kentucky, I'd live in Tennessee. Thank God they rejected this woman. She is one of the worst of the AWFL's.
27 people like this.

Reply 8 - Posted by: homefry 12/3/2025 5:57:43 AM (No. 2036720)
Nearly 10 points. Thats pretty much a landslide aint it?
35 people like this.

Reply 9 - Posted by: skacmar 12/3/2025 6:34:32 AM (No. 2036736)
The election results are the same in this election as every other election. The urban areas voted for the crazed liberal Democrat. Everywhere else voted Republican. One of those Red/Blue maps will show this, just like the rest of the country.
34 people like this.

Reply 10 - Posted by: Aspen02 12/3/2025 6:51:37 AM (No. 2036745)
Democratic white women vote for these progressives.
19 people like this.

Reply 11 - Posted by: felixcat 12/3/2025 7:59:07 AM (No. 2036754)
Unlike too many Republicans in Virginia who sat out the Governor's (Lt Gov and AG) race this past November, the Republicans of TN 7th District did their duty!!
23 people like this.

Reply 12 - Posted by: Mizz Fixxit 12/3/2025 8:24:33 AM (No. 2036765)
Real Clear Politics had just one poll on their site for this race. This poll from The Hill published on November 26 said Van Epps had a 2 point lead. Van Epps won by 9 points. Polls from The Hill consistently overstate democrat strength. The Hill is not a legitimate pollster. The Hill is an arm of the democrat party.
18 people like this.

Reply 13 - Posted by: readtheBook 12/3/2025 8:49:00 AM (No. 2036769)
I live in Tennessee, home of Davy Crockett [who by the way opposed Andrew Jackson's Trail of Tears--Jackson made his home in Nashville] It feels like a kick in the gut that this woman could get a landslide vote anywhere in Tennessee ("she ran up a huge margin in Davidson County"). Is there just something about Nashville? Or is it that any big city produces insanity?
19 people like this.

Reply 14 - Posted by: downnout 12/3/2025 8:57:11 AM (No. 2036771)
What is wrong with the people of Nashville? They vote for a woman who hates the place and everything that has made it what it is. They remind me of the slaves, who after emancipation, were reluctant to leave the plantation.
21 people like this.

Reply 15 - Posted by: J. Arthur Brown 12/3/2025 11:03:53 AM (No. 2036859)
The key to getting enough Trump voters to turn out for this special election was publicizing the negatives of the Democrat nominee. Aftyn Behn's negatives are the rule, not the exception for most of the candidates Democrats will field next year. Highlighting how terrible each of them are as individuals, plus nationalizing the midterms as Trump plans to do via a midterm convention, could enable Republicans to approach 2024 turnout levels in 2026.
8 people like this.

Reply 16 - Posted by: Kate318 12/3/2025 11:33:36 AM (No. 2036876)
Exactly, #8. When dems won by 10 points in NJ, they were apoplectic with joy as they forecasted the coming “Blue Wave.” This morning, I heard a pollster on a liberal channel screeching that Van Epps winning “by only 9 points” was another indication of the coming “Blue Wave.” It’s all psy ops with dems. Every bit of it.
6 people like this.

Reply 17 - Posted by: WimeTarmerFable 12/3/2025 12:03:03 PM (No. 2036892)
Good.
3 people like this.

Reply 18 - Posted by: Krause 12/3/2025 12:54:21 PM (No. 2036918)
Scary that 45% of the people bought the crap that she was selling!
4 people like this.

Reply 19 - Posted by: Dodge Boy 12/3/2025 3:35:34 PM (No. 2036988)
#6, it points to the ongoing propaganda war and who more effectively persuades Joe average American and illegals to embrace the desired narrative at any given point in time. Always remember, the dims couldn't give a rats behind about any of us. The dims only care about submitted ballots, votes counted, and political control. Where or from whom these ballots come from is immaterial. It's all about the numbers.
4 people like this.

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