Republican congressional nominee Matt Van Epps greets supporters outside a polling station on Election Day, in Franklin, Tennessee on Dec. 2, 2025. (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)
President Donald Trump carried the 7th Congressional District — which is located in central and western Tennessee, stretches from Kentucky to Alabama, and includes parts of Nashville — by 22 points in last year's presidential election. And Green won the district by over 20 points in his 2022 and 2024 re-elections.
But Democrats are energized following the 2025 elections, and public opinion surveys suggested a close contest between Van Epps and Behn in a showdown that's seen as a key barometer ahead of next year's midterm elections, when the GOP will be defending its majority.
WATCH: WHAT AFTYN BEHN TOLD FOX NEWS DIGITAL ON ELECTION EVE
Asked by Fox News Digital if he needed to win the election by a certain margin, Van Epps said, "a win is a win."
But the military combat veteran and former commissioner of the Tennessee Department of General Services added that "we're going to press as hard as we can to win by the biggest margin we can, and then we're going to hold the majority in '26."
Republican congressional nominee Matt Van Epps is joined by House Speaker Mike Johnson at an Election Eve rally in Franklin, Tennessee, on Dec. 1, 2025. (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)
"We're going to win this seat, but we cannot take anything for granted," Johnson said in an interview with Fox News Digital.
"Special elections are strange because a lot of people take for granted in a deep red district like this that the Republican is just going to win automatically. Nothing's automatic. So we're here to help turn out the vote and make sure we get this great candidate right over that line," Johnson said.
Aiming to motivate low-propensity Trump supporters, who often don't vote when the president's not on the ballot, Johnson emphasized that "we need everybody to turn out."
Before introducing Van Epps at Monday's first rally, Johnson called Trump on his cell phone, and the president spoke to the crowd for over four minutes.
"Let's make it a sweeping victory," Trump said. "The whole world is watching Tennessee right now. And they're watching your district. The whole world. It’s a big vote. It’s going to show something. It's got to show that the Republican Party is stronger than it's ever been."
Trump joined Van Epps later in the day for an evening tele rally.
In another sign of the importance of holding the seat, Republican Gov. Bill Lee, GOP Sens. Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty, as well as Republican members of Congress from Tennessee, state GOP lawmakers and rival candidates who lost to Van Epps in last month's primary, showed up in support.
Behn also enjoyed last minute support from high-profile surrogates.
Ocasio-Cortez; Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington state, who chaired the Congressional Progressive Caucus the past four years; Black Voters Matter Fund co-founder LaTosha Brown and former Vice President Al Gore, a Tennessee native, all spoke at an Election Eve virtual rally.
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"The reason this race is competitive is because I have been at community gatherings, potlucks, funerals, weddings, with the voters in the seventh district, and they remember that," Behn told Fox News Digital.
But Van Epps, pointing to his Election Eve appearances with Johnson, told Fox News, "I think we were at probably 10 events yesterday to have him here with us and campaigning, the momentum is real. Been endorsed by over 50 local leaders across the district. We've built momentum from the primary, and we're going to carry this forward."
Paul Steinhauser is a politics reporter based in the swing state of New Hampshire. He covers the campaign trail from coast to coast."
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-backed-republican-touts-great-turnout-us-must-win-special-election-gop