WASHINGTON, Dec 2 (Reuters) — Tennessee voters have elected Republican Matt Van Epps to fill a vacant U.S. House seat, according to projections from multiple U.S. media outlets on Tuesday, further strengthening President Donald Trump’s party’s slim majority ahead of next year’s midterm elections.
Van Epps, a former Tennessee Department of General Services commissioner, defeated Democratic state Representative Aftyn Behn, as projected by the Associated Press, NBC News and others. He will assume the seat previously held by former Representative Mark Green, who resigned in July. The Middle Tennessee district encompasses parts of Nashville.
Trump carried the district by 22 points in 2024, and both he and former Representative Mark Green endorsed Van Epps. A recent Emerson College Polling/The Hill survey had suggested the race could be competitive.
A Democratic upset in the post–holiday weekend special election would have narrowed the Republicans’ 219–213 advantage in the House.
In a statement, Van Epps thanked Trump for “his unwavering support,” saying, “President Trump was all-in with us. That made the difference. In Congress, I’ll be all-in with him.”
OTHER SPECIAL ELECTIONS SHIFTING HOUSE DYNAMICS
Democrats have exceeded their 2024 presidential margins by an average of 18 points in four previous special congressional elections this year across Florida, Virginia and Arizona. The party also regained Virginia’s governorship last month, and voters in California approved a ballot measure to redraw the state’s congressional map—potentially flipping up to five Republican-held seats—as part of a nationwide mid-cycle redistricting push ahead of next year’s midterms.
Behn raised nearly $240,000 more than Van Epps through Nov. 12, according to federal filings, as both Republican and Democratic super PACs invested millions into the race.
Republicans sought to cast Behn as a far-left candidate, pointing to some of her past remarks, including since-deleted 2020 tweets calling for defunding the police. When questioned about those posts recently by cable network MS NOW, Behn said she did not recall them and preferred to focus on issues such as the rising cost of living, which she said mattered more to voters.
Several retirements and upcoming special elections could further reshape the House’s tight balance of power in the coming months.
Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene is set to leave her Georgia seat on Jan. 5. Texas voters will choose a Democrat on Jan. 31 to replace the late Representative Sylvester Turner, who died in March, and New Jersey will hold an April 16 special election to fill the seat of Governor-elect Mikie Sherrill, who recently left Congress. Polls show voters remain deeply concerned about the cost of living, including rising healthcare expenses.
Democrats triggered a record 43-day government shutdown beginning Oct. 1, after federal funding lapsed amid a dispute over healthcare costs. Eight Senate Democrats eventually joined Republicans to reopen the government in exchange for a promised vote later this month on a healthcare bill. Democrats are aiming to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies that are set to expire for 24 million people at year’s end.
The House’s narrow margins were underscored on Nov. 12, when Republican Speaker Mike Johnson delayed swearing in Arizona Democrat Adelita Grijalva, who won a Sept. 23 special election. Once seated, Grijalva cast the decisive signature on a petition forcing a vote to require the Justice Department to release unclassified documents related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
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