You Would Think Tennessee’s Special Election Was The One To Win It All
'Aftyn Behn wants one thing'
Trump torches Nashville-hating Democrat for string of scandals: 'How the hell can you elect a person like that?'
President Donald Trump is weighing in ahead of a high-stakes special election in Tennessee.
Constituents in Tennessee's 7th congressional district will cast their last votes on Tuesday to replace retired Republican Rep. Mark Green, choosing between Trump-endorsed Matt Van Epps and scandal-ridden Democrat Aftyn Behn.
'She hates Christianity. ... She hates country music.'
"Matt Van Epps, he's a winner," Trump said over the phone during a rally with Speaker Mike Johnson. "He's going to be great. Don't let this stuff fool you. The Democrats are spending a fortune."
Apart from party affiliation and policy platform, Trump pointed to two main reasons why Tennesseans should turn their backs on Behn.
"She said two things above all else that bothered me," Trump said.
"Number one, she hates Christianity. Number two, she hates country music," Trump said. "How the hell can you elect a person like that?"
Trump is referring to just some of Behn's many scandals that have plagued the Democrat's campaign, including a number of notorious comments and erratic displays. Behn infamously expressed her hatred for Nashville, the very city she is running to represent, and in at least one instance refused to walk it back.
"I hate the city, I hate the bachelorettes, I hate the pedal taverns, I hate country music, I hate all of the things that make Nashville, apparently, an 'it' city to the rest of the country," Behn said. "But I hate it."
On a separate occasion, Behn was confronted for past tweets condoning the burning down of police stations during the 2020 riots, which she also failed to apologize for.
One of these tweets read, "Good morning, especially to the 54% of Americans that believe burning down a police station is justified."
If Behn's past podcast episodes or deleted tweets didn't come back to haunt her enough, another video resurfaced showing the Democrat state legislator storming into Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee's office in 2019 before being forcibly removed by security. This video put Behn's capacity to govern on full display, showing her kicking, screaming, and later sobbing on the floor as she was removed by Lee's security.
Blaze News reached out to Behn's campaign for comment.
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Nashville leftist Aftyn Behn is up against Republican Matt Van Epps in Tennessee's 7th Congressional District contest early next month.Iowa shocker: GOP voters won’t show for weak frauds
Republicans underperformed in the 2022 midterms. No red wave. Not even close. Since then, special election after special election has gone badly for the GOP. Losses pile up everywhere — like what just happened in deep red Western Iowa. Uh-oh.
Donald Trump won Woodbury County in 2024 by a wide margin, 60% to 37%. But in a special election this week, Democrats carried the county by nine points — a swing of more than 30 points in a place where Democrats don’t even control the election machinery.
Men, spend at least half the time on self-government that you spend on football this fall. Hold your candidates accountable.
That should terrify every Republican. If Donald Trump isn’t on the ballot, or if the candidate isn’t a strong standard-bearer like Ron DeSantis in Florida or Kim Reynolds in Iowa, the GOP struggles to turn out voters. The Republican brand is busted unless tied to someone who transcends it.
Rep. Randy Feenstra (R), the congressman from Western Iowa, is the antithesis of a transcendent candidate. He’s nothing in Washington yet somehow thinks he’s suited to be governor. That is exactly the sort of mediocrity voters are rejecting.
Enough. We cannot accept Republicans who bide their time, hoping Trump passes from the stage, only to drag us back to the timid talking points of 2005. No more Mitt Romneys. The choice is stark: Either embrace Trump’s America First agenda without apology or get out of the way.
The stakes couldn’t be clearer
The Woodbury County loss is a four-alarm fire. If Republicans don’t wake up, Democrats will catch them flat-footed again in the 2026 midterms.
Look north. Minnesota is already succumbing to progressive chaos. The state covers for an Islamic takeover of its largest city. Catholic children were just shot at Mass by a trans terrorist. Politicians there proudly defend the worldview that produces bloodshed, blasphemy, and disorder. And still, red states remain complacent — unprepared for the next wave of evil attacks on faith, family, and freedom.
RELATED: Democrat's shocking victory in Iowa raises alarm for GOP
Republicans can’t afford that softness any longer. Too many in the GOP act like the proverbial dog returning to its vomit. That weakness must end. Candidates must raise the stakes, not bury them in cowardice and equivocation. They must be warriors ready to defend this country against every enemy, foreign and domestic.
A challenge to men
So here’s my challenge: Men, spend at least half the time on self-government that you spend on football this fall. Fortify your homes, your churches, and your communities. Hold your candidates accountable.
If you don’t, your sons may not inherit the blessing of football season — or the freedoms you’ve taken for granted.
Democrat's shocking victory in Iowa raises alarm for GOP
A Democrat easily won a special election in a deep-red Iowa state Senate district on Tuesday, raising serious concerns for Republicans in the state and across the country.
According to unofficial reports from the Woodbury County Auditor’s Office, Democrat Catelin Drey, a 37-year-old activist for abortion rights and gun control, soundly defeated Republican Christopher Prosch for the open District 1 Senate seat, representing the Sioux City area, 55% to 44%. President Donald Trump carried Woodbury County by 23 points less than 10 months ago.
'Last night, we suffered quite the L in the most Republican part of Iowa.'
Once Drey is sworn into office, Republicans will no longer hold a supermajority in the Iowa Senate as they have had for the past three years.
"I’m just really incredibly honored that the folks in Senate District 1 believed in this campaign as much as the team did, and I am looking forward to representing them well," Drey told the Des Moines Register.
Other leftists in politics and the media crowed much more loudly, flaunting the results as a harbinger of things to come in the 2026 midterms and beyond.
"Iowans are seeing Republicans for who they are: self-serving liars who will throw their constituents under the bus to rubber stamp Donald Trump’s disastrous agenda — and they’re ready for change," said a statement from DNC Chairman Ken Martin, according to Fox News.
"Our state is ready for a new direction and Iowa Democrats will keep putting forward candidates who can deliver better representation for Iowans," added a statement from Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart.
"Every special election is a snapshot of voter energy. And the picture emerging in 2025 suggests a Democratic Party building toward something larger — perhaps a blue wave in 2026," gloated MeidasTouch News.
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A few Republicans tried to shrug the loss off. Republican Party of Iowa Chair Jeff Kaufmann, for instance, even seemed to suggest that Democrats cared more about winning the race than his party did.
"National Democrats were so desperate for a win that they activated 30,000 volunteers and a flood of national money to win a state senate special election by a few hundred votes," Kaufmann said in a statement, according to the Register. "If the Democrats think things are suddenly so great again for them in Iowa, they will bring back the caucuses."
However, others like BlazeTV host Steve Deace are taking the results very seriously. "Last night, we suffered quite the L in the most Republican part of Iowa. The kind of special election loss that should be a wake-up call for Republicans nationwide," he told Blaze News.
"Trump won Woodbury County, which dominates this district, by 23 points in '24. Yet, we lost this special election by nine points. That is quite the ominous swing. It doesn’t matter how bad Democrats image polling is if we can’t motivate our own voters to show up when Trump isn't on the ballot."
Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) called the special election after Republican state Sen. Rocky De Witt died of pancreatic cancer in June. De Witt won the 2022 District 1 Senate race by 10 points.
Drey's victory marks the second unexpected Democrat win in Iowa in 2025. Back in January, Democrat state Sen. Mike Zimmer won a special election in Senate District 35 in Eastern Iowa, which Trump carried by over 20 points in November.
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Who's running to replace Mark Green in the House?
Now-former Rep. Mark Green (R) of Tennessee officially retired over the weekend, and several candidates have already thrown their hats into the race to replace him.
Green initially announced his retirement in June, saying he would be pursuing an opportunity in the private sector which was "too exciting to pass up." Green said he would officially retire after the House passed President Donald Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which was signed into law on July 4.
With the deep-red seat now in play, several Republicans have set their sights on Tennessee's 7th congressional district.
"It's with a heavy heart that I say farewell," Green said, concluding his 40-year career in public service. "To my constituents across Tennessee’s 7th District — thank you. The trust you put in me is humbling. I will look back fondly on my years of serving as your voice in Washington."
As a result, the House Republican majority narrowed to 219 seats, while Democrats continue to hold 212. Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R) and the Tennessee Secretary of State's Office promptly announced they will be holding a special election with a primary in October and a general election in December.
RELATED: How Rep. Mark Green's abrupt resignation will affect House Republicans' slim majority
It's with a heavy heart that I say farewell.
To my constituents across Tennessee’s 7th District—thank you. The trust you put in me is humbling. I will look back fondly on my years of serving as your voice in Washington. pic.twitter.com/fwjVMCRtpQ
— Rep. Mark Green (@RepMarkGreen) July 4, 2025
With the deep-red seat now in play, several Republicans have set their sights on Tennessee's 7th congressional district.
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Some Tennessee state representatives have launched campaigns to replace Green, including Republicans Jody Barrett of Dickson County and Lee Reeves of Franklin County. Stewart Parks, a Nashville resident who was convicted of and later pardoned for January 6-related charges, is also running.
Other candidates include several U.S. Army veterans, like Springfield resident Jon Thorp, Montgomery County Commissioner Jason Knight, and Matt Van Epps, a former commissioner of the Tennessee Department of General Services who resigned to run.
Although the National Republican Congressional Committee has not yet thrown its support behind any candidate, Green endorsed Van Epps to replace him.
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