Republican primary The Republican primary was held on October 7, 2025, to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of
Mark Green. The contest featured 11 candidates, including
state representatives Jody Barrett,
Gino Bulso,
Lee Reeves and businessman Stuart Cooper.
Matt Van Epps, an
Army veteran and former commissioner of the Tennessee Department of General Services, ran on a platform of
border security and the "
America First" agenda. On October 3, 2025,
Donald Trump endorsed Van Epps, leading fellow candidates Lee Reeves and Stuart Cooper to withdraw and endorse him, though Reeves' and Cooper's name remained on the ballot. The endorsement triggered a broader consolidation of party support behind Van Epps, who won the primary with 51.6% of the vote. He carried 12 of the district's 14 counties, while Barrett won his home counties of
Dickson and
Hickman.
Democratic primary Four candidates contested the Democratic primary: state representatives
Aftyn Behn,
Vincent Dixie, and
Bo Mitchell, and consultant Darden Copeland. Behn, a community organizer and
social worker, won the nomination with a plurality of 27.9% of the vote, defeating Copeland by 933 votes. Her campaign focused on
universal healthcare, rural hospital funding, and the rising
cost of living. National Democratic groups monitored the race as a test of progressive messaging in a district redrawn in 2022 to include
Democratic strongholds in
Nashville.
General election The general election campaign was characterized by significant national investment.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson campaigned with Van Epps, and President Trump participated in "tele-rallies" to boost turnout. Conservative
super PACs, including
MAGA Inc., spent over $1.7 million on advertising targeting Behn. Behn received high-profile support from former vice president
Al Gore, U.S. representative
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and former vice president
Kamala Harris. In November, Harris visited
Nashville to headline a canvassing kickoff for the
Tennessee Democratic Party. While Harris did not mention Behn by name during her remarks, she urged voters to recognize the "power in the South" and emphasized the national significance of the special election. The campaign featured aggressive
attack advertisements from both sides. Republican groups ran ads highlighting Behn's past comments where she described herself as a "radical" and claimed to have "bullied" state police during protests; ads also resurfaced an old social media post where she stated she "hated" the city of Nashville and
country music. ==Republican primary==