Less than a month after Democratic victories in New York, Virginia, and New Jersey, the spotlight is now on Tennessee's 7th Congressional District, where the opposition party is trying to demonstrate growing discontent with President Donald Trump, even in confidently conservative territories where Republicans have won by a wide margin decades.

This is the final test at the polls this year for both parties ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, where House Republicans are looking to retain the seat in Tennessee's 7th Congressional District and increase their narrow 219-213 majority in the House.

However, Democrats, with Aftyn Behn as their standard-bearer, are hoping to extend their winning streak and secure a surprise victory in this central Tennessee district, where Donald Trump and other Republican candidates typically win with close to 60% of the vote.

For the Republicans, Matt Van Epps is seeking to replace Republican Representative Mark Green, who resigned in July to join the private sector.

According to analysts, Tuesday's special congressional election could be a much closer race than anticipated.

Republicans swept the 7th Congressional District in Tennessee by 22 points last year, but a poll by Emerson College in Boston reveals that only two points separate Democrat Aftyn Behn from Democrat Aftyn Behn from Republican Matt Van Epps. Van Epps leads with 48% to Behn's 46%, with 5% of respondents undecided. Women voters and voters under 40 prefer Behn, according to the Emerson poll, while Van Epps fared better among men and older voters. Trump seeks to avert defeat. Ahead of the special election in Tennessee's 7th Congressional District, President Donald Trump is seeking to avoid another defeat for his party and reiterated his support for Republican candidate Matt Van Epps.

“Matt Van Epps is a winner and he's going to be great,” Trump said during a call with US House Speaker Mike Johnson at a rally in Franklin on December 1.

“I just want to give Matt Van Epps my full support, and he has from the beginning. He's going to be a fantastic congressman,” he added.“He's going to represent you very well and keep our agenda moving forward.”

The president claimed that Van Epps's Democratic opponent, Aftyn Behn, “hates Christianity, will take away your guns, wants Open Borders, Transgender for all, men in women's sports, and openly despises country music,” commenting, as he often does, without evidence.

Trump concluded that Van Epps has his “full and total support” and “HE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!”