Reporter's Notebook: Tennessee special election eyed as Trump referendum ahead of midterms
We’ll know Wednesday morning if a special election in Tennessee is truly a referendum on country music, pedal taverns and bachelorettes.Or, we can divine a deeper political meaning from the...
By Fox News · Fox News
We’ll know Wednesday morning if a special election in Tennessee is truly a referendum on country music, pedal taverns and bachelorettes. Or, we can divine a deeper political meaning from the results of the special election in Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District. Democrat Aftyn Behn is trying to tip the scales in favor of her party in a district which President Donald Trump carried by about 20 points and former Rep. Mark Green, R-Tenn., won by a similar percentage last fall. Behn faces GOPer Matt Van Epps. It’s a Republican district . But political observers are watching the race to gauge potential weakness by Trump, a softness in the Trump coalition, issues with the Republican brand or early indications of a possible blue wave in the 2026 midterms. TENNESSEE DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE DODGES QUESTIONS ON PAST SUPPORT FOR DEFUNDING POLICE IN CONTENTIOUS INTERVIEW It was Behn who proclaimed that she abhorred Nashville several years ago. "I hate the bachelorettes, I hate the pedal taverns, I hate country music. I hate all the things that make Nashville apparently an ‘it city,’" complained Behn. About all Behn left out in her animus toward Music City was dissing The Grand Ole Opry, hot chicken and Goo Goo Clusters. But if voters go goo goo over Behn Tuesday, Republicans face a cluster of another sort. A Behn victory may signal major problems for Republicans and President Trump heading into the midterms. Behn is characterized as the "AOC of Tennessee," a reference to progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez , D-N.Y. Republicans have been sure to boomerang that against Behn, suggesting she’s not in tune with the district, leans too far to the left and is closer to the liberal values of New York or Los Angeles than Nashville. Republicans believe Behn is just a bad fit for Nashville. Kind of like having Bad Bunny perform at the Ryman Auditorium. "It shouldn’t even be close, but it is," mused Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., on Fox. So Republicans are pouring in money to protect t…