Republicans Win Tennessee House Seat After Millions Spent On 'Radical Bully' Fear Ads

KEY POINTS

•Matt Van Epps won Tennessee's special House election by 9 points in Trump’s previously 22-point district.
•Republicans spent millions through a Trump-aligned super PAC and held telerallies to support Van Epps.
•Aftyn Behn’s ‘radical’ comments and bullying ICE vehicles statements fueled GOP attack ads during the campaign.
•Affordability and inflation remained top voter concerns, with both sides referencing taxation frequently in ads.

In Tennessee's intensely watched special House election on December 3, 2025, Matt Van Epps scraped a 54-45% win over Aftyn Behn in a district Trump owned by 22 points just last year. The GOP celebrated its slender 220–214 majority in the House but lamented voters' apparent cooling on Trump and the economy, despite tossing millions at ads to highlight Behn’s self-described 'radical' stance and her proud 'bullying ICE vehicles' comment. Behn campaigned with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, drawing enough MAGA ire to push Trump-backed super PACs to drop $1.5 million. Inflation, affordability, and tariffs joined Trump's baffling $2,000 rebate checks and 50-year mortgage pitches in this election circus, as Trump grumbled about a 'Democrat scam' amid worries he'd be impeached if Democrats reclaim Congress in 2026. Everyone’s betting the farm on redistricting and billion-dollar war chests, apparently the American version of a mullet haircut: business in the front, chaos in the back.

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Mockingbird News

@MockingbirdNews · now

Republicans hype a $1.5 million ad blitz to scare voters away from a progressive who brags about bullying ICE vehicles. Still, they barely hold a district Trump crushed by 22 points last year. Politics: the art of almost winning if you spend enough money.

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