Dec. 2 (UPI) — Voters in central Tennessee are heading to the polls Tuesday for a special election that could be a bellwether for how party control of the U.S. House of Representatives will shake out in next year’s midterm elections.
Those who live in the 7th Congressional District just west of Nashville will decide between former state Department of General Services Commissioner Matt Van Epps, a Republican, and state Rep. Aftyn Behn, a Democrat, in the election.
The special election was called in response to the resignation of Republican Rep. Mark Green, who was first elected in 2018.
In 2024, 60% of voters in the district voted for the re-election of President Donald Trump.
While the district has historically leaned Republican, redistricting in 2020 made the 7th District slightly less rural and could give Democrats the chance to whittle away at the Republican control of the U.S. House.
Former Vice President Al Gore, who represented Tennessee in the U.S. Senate, said he’s noticed a political shift in the district. He spoke Monday at a virtual rally for Behn.
“Having had the privilege of representing Tennessee in years past, I want to tell you that I have never seen the political tides shift as far and as fast as we’re seeing them move in this election,” he said, according to CNN.
Behn, 36, was elected to the Tennessee legislature’s 51st District in Davidson County in 2023 as part of a special election to replace the late Rep. Bill Beck. She won re-election in 2024.
Before that, she was an activist who pushed for affordable cost of living, Medicaid expansion and fought against hospital closures in rural areas, USA Today reported.
Endorsed by Trump, Van Epps, 42, was relatively unknown in the world of politics before receiving the backing of a billionaire-funded super PAC. He’s a combat veteran who served 10 years in the U.S. Army with deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq.
NPR reported the election has received more than $6.5 million in funding, including some $1.6 million coming from a pro-Trump super PAC.