Majority of voters in Tennessee decided to elect Republican Matt Van Epps to fill a vacant U.S. House of Representatives seat, U.S. media outlets reported, padding the narrow lead by President Donald Trump's party in the chamber heading into next year's midterm elections.
Van Epps, a former commissioner of the Tennessee Department of General Services, defeated Democratic state Representative Aftyn Behn, outlets including the Associated Press and NBC News announced. Van Epps will fill the seat vacated by former Representative Mark Green, who resigned in July. The Middle Tennessee district includes parts of Nashville.
With about 96 percent of votes counted, Van Epps had 53.9 percent, while Behn had 45 percent, according to the AP.
"This race was bigger than just one campaign," Van Epps said in a statement. "It represented a defining moment for Tennessee and for the direction of the country."
He also said cost-of-living concerns would be among his top priorities – a reflection of the broader focus on those issues in races this year, including the New York City mayoral race and the governors’ races in Virginia and New Jersey.
Trump won the district by 22 points in 2024, and both Trump and Green endorsed Van Epps. A survey by Emerson College Polling/The Hill released last week suggested it could be a tight race.
An upset by the Democrat in the off-cycle election following a holiday weekend would have whittled away at Republicans' 219-213 House majority.
In a statement, Van Epps thanked Trump "for his unwavering support," adding: "President Trump was all-in with us. That made the difference. In Congress, I’ll be all-in with him."
Behn outraised Van Epps by nearly US$ 240,000 through 12 November, according to federal election filings. Republican and Democratic super PACs had poured millions of dollars into the race.
Republicans painted Behn as a radical leftist, highlighting some of her past comments, including since-deleted tweets from 2020 in which she called for defunding the police.
When pressed on those tweets recently by cable TV channel MS NOW, Behn said she did not recall them and wanted to focus on cost-of-living challenges and other issues she argued were more important to voters.
A handful of retirements and upcoming special elections could further affect the chamber's narrow balance of power in the months ahead.