Republican Matt Van Epps prevailed in a Tuesday special election for Tennessee‘s 7th Congressional district that should have been a cakewalk for Republicans.

President Donald Trump claimed Van Epps’ results as ‘another great victory for the Republican Party’ after ‘Democrats threw everything at him, including Millions of Dollars’ in a post on Truth Social Tuesday night.

With 99 percent of votes counted, Van Epps’ lead was around nine percentage points. The previous Republican who held the seat won by 21 points last year, and Trump carried the district by 22 points.

Van Epps defeated Aftyn Behn, a Democratic Tennessee state representative who campaigned on affordability in the deep-red district, promoting Medicaid protections, infrastructure improvements, and free school meals for children.

She ended up losing to Van Epps by 8 points on Tuesday night.

The Republican Party nationalized the race, unleashing more than $3 million in advertising to carry their nominee over the finish line.

In his victory speech, Van Epps doubled down on his support of the president, noting that ‘running from Trump is how you lose,’ before adding that ‘running with Trump is how you win.’

‘Politicians who run from the president or abandon the common-sense policies that the American people gave us a resounding mandate on do so at their own peril,’ Van Epps said at his victory party.

‘No matter what the DC insiders or liberal media say, this is President Trump’s party. I’m proud to be a part of it and can’t wait to get to work.’

While the win is a relief for the party in power, it also carries warning signs for Republicans’ midterm election hopes. If Democrats came this close in ruby red Tennessee, it means a batch of other seats are likely to be vulnerable next year.

This unexpected closeness of a single-digit race in a Republican stronghold raised serious questions about the GOP‘s brand nationwide and their voter enthusiasm heading into 2026.

Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin said in a statement, that ‘what happened tonight in Tennessee makes it clear: Democrats are on offense and Republicans are on the ropes.’

Martin also noted that the results were a ‘historic’ overperformance and ‘a flashing warning sign for Republicans heading into the midterms.’

Republican attempts to portray Behn as a ‘radical liberal’ contrasted sharply with an aggressive Democratic effort to anchor their campaign on healthcare, economic affordability, and transparency.

Trump boosted Van Epps via a tele-rally last month and in a post on X on Tuesday, lauding him for cherishing ‘Christianity and country music.’

Behn, a Nashville Democratic state representative who was her party’s nominee, sneered in a podcast that resurfaced during her campaign that she ‘hates’ the city that she hoped to represent because it’s filled with Americans who enjoy partying and country music.

‘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. I hate it,’ Behn can be heard saying in the resurfaced clip from the GRITS podcast in February 2020.

Ironically, Behn performed a cover of Dolly Parton’s country classic ‘9 to 5’ during her concession speech.

She has also previously called sororities ‘a staple of white supremacy,’ and branded the whole of Tennessee a ‘racist state.‘

Republicans seized on the damning audio, arguing that it is absurd for Behn to try and represent a place she admitted she hates.

Behn was also was discovered to have advocated for ideas such as defunding the police in 2020, policies that put her squarely in the progressive socialist camp of the Democratic party, more in line with the values of New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez than middle America.

Ocasio-Cortez joined a virtual rally for Behn on Monday, and Texas Democrat Jasmine Crockett held a town hall with Behn last month.

Behn herself, meanwhile, tried to frame her campaign around issues such as affordability that appeal to economic populist voters on both sides of the political aisle.

Despite her loss on Tuesday, Behn hinted during an interview with CNN that she is leaving the door open for a rematch with Van Epps next year.

House Republican Speaker Mike Johnson boosted Van Epps via an in-person visit on Monday, and will retain a GOP seat in the narrow Republican majority that allows him to remain as Speaker.

After returning to Washington, Johnson also encouraged Republicans to go out and vote because ‘special elections are strange animals and anything can happen, and when you’re in a deep red district, sometimes people assume that the Republican, the conservative, will win, and you cannot assume that because anything can happen.’

Johnson’s majority is still on thin ice with the imminent departure of Georgia GOP Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, who will resign her seat in January.

Former vice president and failed 2024 presidential candidate Kamala Harris also hit the campaign trail in person to boost Behn last month, calling the election ‘the most competitive race in America.’ However, she did not mention the candidate by name or appear alongside her.

Van Epps is a former Tennessee General Services commissioner who will fill the state’s 7th congressional seat, formerly occupied by Republican Mark Green, who resigned earlier this summer to take a job in the private sector.

The seat is rated R +10 by the Cook Political Report, despite Green’s prior win being by over 20 points. The race has also shifted slightly toward Democrats, going from ‘solid Republican’ to ‘lean Republican’ last month.

Significant Democratic electoral victories last month in Virginia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Georgia drew substantial media attention and money to Tennessee in the final weeks of the special election.

Democrats are sure to view this close call as a sign to play heavily in districts that have long been considered safe GOP strongholds in the new year’s midterms.