We have major news coming out of Tennessee tonight, and it’s far bigger than anyone expected. I just got off the phone with Aftyn Behn, the Democratic nominee in next week’s special election for Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District, and what she told me is nothing short of stunning. According to her campaign’s latest internal polling, she is down by only four points. This is in a district Donald Trump won by twenty-two points. A district that Republicans have treated not just as safe, but practically untouchable. And suddenly, the ground is shifting under their feet.
I’m working around the clock to make sure you get the news that actually matters. And right now, there are people who would love nothing more than to silence this platform and shut down independent reporting. I’m not going to let that happen. The stories we’re uncovering are too important, and the national media isn’t touching them.
Subscribe
What is happening in Tennessee right now is the political equivalent of an earthquake. National Republicans, who should have been able to coast through this race without breaking a sweat, are now scrambling.
They are rushing in millions of dollars in last-minute spending, desperately trying to hold onto a seat they never imagined would be in play. Their panic alone tells you everything about how real this race has become.
Money is now flooding into the district from both sides because neither party believes the outcome is guaranteed anymore. Republican-aligned PACs have already spent more than $2.3 million trying to shore up their candidate, Matt Van Epps.
That includes nearly $1.2 million from Trump’s own PAC. On the Democratic side, PACs have invested roughly $1.8 million to boost Behn’s campaign. These are not the numbers you see in a sleepy special election. These are the numbers of a fight that has caught national attention.
In total, more than $4.1 million has already been spent in this race, and most of it has gone into brutal negative advertising aimed at tearing down both candidates. That figure doesn’t even include the nearly $3 million that was dumped into the primary earlier this year, most of it to ensure Van Epps emerged as the GOP nominee. The level of investment here is extraordinary, especially for a district that was redrawn to heavily favor Republicans just two years ago.
To understand why this is happening, you have to look at the broader context. Over the last few months, Donald Trump’s approval rating has been sliding. The government shutdown has taken a toll.
Cuts to SNAP benefits have outraged working families. And the long-term economic impacts of Trump’s tariff policies are hitting farmers and consumers hard. Suddenly, districts that were once dismissed as completely safe for Republicans are showing unexpected signs of movement.
All the money, all the panic, and all the last-minute maneuvering point to one thing. Aftyn Behn has transformed what was once considered one of the most reliably Republican districts in the country into a genuine, competitive contest. She has forced national Republicans into emergency mode. She has united Democratic groups behind her. And she has done it in a district that Trump carried in a landslide.
With just one week until the December 2 special election, this is no longer a symbolic fight or a long-shot protest campaign. It is a real race, a tight race, and a race that could send shockwaves through national politics if the momentum continues to shift.
If a Democrat can come within striking distance in a district like this, then nothing about the political map is settled for 2025. This is a moment worth paying attention to.