{"id":2515366,"date":"2025-11-28T06:35:01","date_gmt":"2025-11-28T11:35:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/embattled-radical-democrat-candidate-said-prayer-makes-her-deeply-uncomfortable-in-resurfaced-audio\/"},"modified":"2025-11-28T06:35:24","modified_gmt":"2025-11-28T11:35:24","slug":"embattled-radical-democrat-candidate-said-prayer-makes-her-deeply-uncomfortable-in-resurfaced-audio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/embattled-radical-democrat-candidate-said-prayer-makes-her-deeply-uncomfortable-in-resurfaced-audio\/","title":{"rendered":"Embattled Radical Democrat Candidate Said Prayer Makes Her &#8216;Deeply Uncomfortable&#8217; in Resurfaced Audio"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fembattled-radical-democrat-candidate-said-prayer-makes-her-deeply-uncomfortable-in-resurfaced-audio%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2515366&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Tennessee Democratic congressional candidate Aftyn Behn has expressed discomfort with the Tennessee Legislature&#8217;s tradition of opening sessions with prayer,criticizing the strong influence of Christian pastors and prayer groups in the state&#8217;s politics. In a June 2024 podcast, Behn, who identifies as secular, said that the intertwining of religion and legislative activities makes many constituents uncomfortable, especially those of diverse religious backgrounds. Behn is known for her progressive positions, including advocating for abortion access, transgender rights, and opposing Tennessee&#8217;s ban on gender-affirming care for minors. She is running in a December 2025 special election for Tennessee&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-red-wave-of-conservative-women-elected-to-congress\/\" title=\"The Red Wave of Conservative Women Elected to Congress\">7th congressional district<\/a>.Behn has a history of activism, including protests against alleged misconduct by a former Republican state representative, and has made controversial statements criticizing Tennessee&#8217;s cultural and political environment.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>Democratic Tennessee congressional candidate Aftyn Behn said in resurfaced audio that lawmakers openly praying during legislative sessions make her &ldquo;uncomfortable.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>While appearing on the &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/ep-44-shes-in-the-room-where-it-happens\/id1529654048?i=1000659695489\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Red State Blue Moon<\/a>&rdquo; podcast in June 2024, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/unreal-video-woke-tn-candidate-congress-literally-thrown-gov-s-office-trying-mad-dash-past-security-2019\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Behn<\/a> complained that the Tennessee Legislature opens up with prayer at the beginning of each legislative session. She further complained that Christian pastors and prayer groups have &ldquo;proximity to power&rdquo; in the Legislature and that religion is often at the center of the state&rsquo;s politics.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;And I think, especially as someone who is more secular, I have a hard time when religion is at the core of everything we do in the Legislature. For example, on the House floor, we say a prayer at the beginning of each session,&rdquo; Behn said. &ldquo;Some committees open up with prayer, we also stand for the Pledge. And there are also prayer groups in the Legislature who meet routinely. There are Christian pastors that have a lot of say and proximity to power in the Legislature and dictate a lot of what the power players do. And it is uncomfortable and I think it makes a lot of my constituents who represent a diversity of religion deeply uncomfortable.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">UNCOVERED AUDIO<\/p>\n<p>Tennessee Democrat Aftyn Behn &ndash; who once brought a transgender pastor to the Tennessee Legislature &ndash; said it made her &ldquo;uncomfortable&rdquo; to see her colleagues pray.<\/p>\n<p>BEHN: &ldquo;There are also prayer groups in the legislature&hellip; it is uncomfortable.&rdquo; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/7op3OOUEYf\">pic.twitter.com\/7op3OOUEYf<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; RNC Research (@RNCResearch) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RNCResearch\/status\/1993668269803499548?\">November 26, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Behn has entered the spotlight over her far-left positions and actions during her activism and time in the Legislature. She is running to fill the vacant seat in Tennessee&rsquo;s 7th district in the state&rsquo;s special election on Dec. 2.<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"stnvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadScript(src) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=src; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.async=true; \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.body.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadScript(\"https:\/\/embed.sendtonews.com\/player3\/embedcode.js?fk=s28Az7AY\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #stnvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#stnvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>In 2022, Behn advocated for teaching women how to perform abortions at home to <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >avoid state-wide bans<\/a> and provide abortion pills during an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@TheTennesseeHoller\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">interview<\/a> with The Tennessee Holler.<\/p>\n<p>The Tennessee Democrat more recently promised to carry a &ldquo;trans bill of rights&rdquo; at every legislative session if she is elected to the U.S. Congress.&nbsp;She has also expressed support for sex changes and hormone procedures for trans-identifying minors and condemned the U.S. Supreme Court for upholding Tennessee&rsquo;s ban on these treatments.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">&#128680; JUST IN: Tennessee&rsquo;s 7th Congressional District special election poll &ndash; Emerson<\/p>\n<p>&#128308;Matt Van Epps 49.4% (+2.4)<br \/> &#128309;Aftyn Behn 47.0%<\/p>\n<p>Trump+22 district<\/p>\n<p>Republicans MUST win this. Big issues if we don&rsquo;t. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/nGbRIxUt0c\">pic.twitter.com\/nGbRIxUt0c<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/EricLDaugh\/status\/1993669144294900137?\">November 26, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>In 2019, Behn protested with the activist group, Enough is Enough-Tennessee, to call on former Republican Tennessee State Rep. David Byrd to resign over allegations that he engaged in sexual misconduct. Resurfaced footage showed her storming into Republican Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee&rsquo;s office to demand that he call for Byrd&rsquo;s resignation, which forced security to drag her out while she screamed and sobbed.<\/p>\n<p>A month later, she entered the House chamber and dramatically screamed at the top of lungs, leading officers to escort her out of the area. She called on both Byrd and then-House Speaker Glen Casada to resign.<\/p>\n<p>In 2020, Behn stated on the &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/episode\/0tyxCyMxrafOlHWwHc0KGr?si=XLW1PHVHRHufewwXO60JHQ&amp;nd=1&amp;dlsi=9ff0466aad4b4d36\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Year Old Grits<\/a>&rdquo; podcast that she hated everything about Nashville, including the country music and the bachelorette parties. She also called Tennessee a &ldquo;racist state&rdquo; in an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennessean.com\/story\/opinion\/2019\/03\/27\/tennessee-racist-state-general-assembly\/3279761002\/?gnt-cfr=1&amp;gca-cat=p&amp;gca-uir=false&amp;gca-epti=z116935u115135d00----v116935&amp;gca-ft=233&amp;gca-ds=sophi\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/www.tennessean.com\/story\/opinion\/2019\/03\/27\/tennessee-racist-state-general-assembly\/3279761002\/?gnt-cfr%3D1%26gca-cat%3Dp%26gca-uir%3Dfalse%26gca-epti%3Dz116935u115135d00----v116935%26gca-ft%3D233%26gca-ds%3Dsophi&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1764257968171000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0UrPfZ16ErYOJcDUDjmbj4\">op-ed<\/a> for the Tennessean in March 2019 and further accused it of being a &ldquo;God-forsaken&rdquo; state in resurfaced <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/RNCResearch\/status\/1992717732559634737\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">video<\/a> from 2023.<\/p>\n<div class=\"disclaimer\">\n<p><em>All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/union-membership-plummets-to-record-low\/\" title=\"Union Membership Plummets to Record Low\">legitimate news publisher<\/a> that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter&rsquo;s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/mailto:licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org\">licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Democratic congressional candidate from Tennessee, Aftyn Behn, expressed in recently surfaced audio that she feels &#8220;uncomfortable&#8221; when lawmakers pray openly during legislative sessions. During a June 2024 appearance on the &#8220;Red State Blue Moon&#8221; podcast, Behn criticized the Tennessee Legislature for starting each session with prayer. She also voiced concerns about Christian pastors and prayer groups having close access to power within the Legislature and noted that religion frequently plays a central role in state politics<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2515367,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Ben-Working-Feature-Image-2025-11-26T234842.995.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[34069,67844,67843,67842],"class_list":["post-2515366","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-election-news","tag-political-audio","tag-prayer-controversy","tag-radical-democrat"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Ben-Working-Feature-Image-2025-11-26T234842.995.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2515366","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2515366"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2515366\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2515370,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2515366\/revisions\/2515370"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2515367"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2515366"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2515366"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2515366"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}