{"id":2516955,"date":"2025-12-03T09:37:01","date_gmt":"2025-12-03T14:37:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/polls-oversold-democrats-chances-in-tennessee-special-election\/"},"modified":"2025-12-03T09:38:11","modified_gmt":"2025-12-03T14:38:11","slug":"polls-oversold-democrats-chances-in-tennessee-special-election","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/polls-oversold-democrats-chances-in-tennessee-special-election\/","title":{"rendered":"Polls oversold Democrats&#8217; chances in Tennessee special election"},"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\">16<\/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%2Fpolls-oversold-democrats-chances-in-tennessee-special-election%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=2516955&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>Republican Matt Van Epps won the special election in Tennessee&#8217;s 7th Congressional District, defeating democrat Aftyn Behn by a larger margin than recent polls had predicted. Van Epps secured nearly 54% of the vote compared to Behn&#8217;s 45%, winning by about nine points. Although the victory reinforces Republican strength in the district, the results showed notable Democratic gains, with every county in the district shifting more Democratic compared to the last presidential election. Behn&#8217;s strong performance, especially in Davidson County (which includes Nashville), was seen as a meaningful sign for Democrats ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >democrats remain optimistic due<\/a> to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-biden-knew-about-fbi-raid-like-he-knew-about-hunters-deals\/\" title=\"...: Biden Knew About FBI Raid &quot;Like He Knew About Hunter&#039;s Deals&quot;\">recent wins<\/a> in othre state elections, while Republicans view Van Epps&#8217; win as maintaining their narrow House majority. However, Democrats caution that Republican reelection efforts should not be taken for granted next year, highlighting the competitive nature of upcoming races.  <\/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\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Polls oversold Democrats&rsquo; chances in Tennessee special election but party still sees hope in results<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2420595\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Republican Matt Van Epps won Tuesday night&rsquo;s <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/special-elections\/\">special election<\/a> in <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/tennessee\/\">Tennessee<\/a>&lsquo;s 7th Congressional District, beating Democrat Aftyn Behn by a larger margin than last-minute <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/polling\/\">polling<\/a> showed. However, there were still significant Democratic gains in the district.<\/p>\n<p>The outcome of the special election was thrown up in the air last week when an election tracker and a new poll suggested the race would have been tighter. Inside Elections <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/3899771\/tennessee-7th-district-shifts-safe-republican-lean-republican-election-tracker\/\">shifted its rating<\/a> for the district from &ldquo;safe Republican&rdquo; to &ldquo;lean Republican&rdquo; <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/emersoncollegepolling.com\/tennessee-7th-district-2025-special-election-poll\/\">in response to a poll<\/a> conducted by Emerson College and the <em>Hill<\/em> that showed 48% of voters supporting Van Epps and 46% supporting Behn.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/3904810\/tennessee-special-election-aftyn-behn-matt-van-epps-results\/\">Republican Matt Van Epps wins Tennessee special election, dashing Democratic hopes of upset<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/3904660\/ayanna-pressley-reelection-house-seat\/\">&#8216;Squad&#8217; Rep. Ayanna Pressley to forgo Senate bid and run for House reelection<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/3904338\/mike-rounds-post-holiday-reelection-announcement\/\">Mike Rounds planning post-holiday reelection announcement<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Much of the language ahead of the election framed it as a tight race.<\/p>\n<p>As of Wednesday morning, Van Epps secured the victory by a nine-point lead with almost all votes counted. Van Epps garnered nearly 54% of the votes, compared to Behn&rsquo;s 45%.<\/p>\n<p>While the larger-than-expected win is a good sign for Republicans heading into next year&rsquo;s midterm elections, Van Epps underperformed compared to President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\">Donald Trump<\/a> and former Rep. Mark Green (R-TN), who both won the district by more than 20 points last year.<\/p>\n<p>The congressman-elect is filling the seat vacated by Green, who <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/3436124\/mark-green-retire-house-early-after-second-reconciliation-vote\/\">announced his retirement<\/a> in June after winning the 2024 election.<\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, Democrats made positive gains in every county across the district. Every county shifted blue compared to last year&rsquo;s presidential election, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mccormick-concedes-to-oz-in-pa-senate-primary\/\" title=\"McCormick Concedes To Oz In PA Senate Primary\">election results published<\/a> by the <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/2025\/12\/02\/us\/elections\/results-tennessee-us-house-7-special.html\">New York Times<\/a><\/em>. Davidson County, the only county that Behn won, shifted leftward by 20 points. That county includes Nashville, a predominantly liberal city in an otherwise red state.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Aftyn Behn&rsquo;s overperformance in this Trump +22 district is historic and a flashing warning sign for Republicans heading into the midterms,&rdquo; Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/in-major-warning-sign-for-republicans-aftyn-behn-significantly-overperforms-in-tn-07\/\">said in a statement<\/a>. &ldquo;Aftyn centered her campaign on lowering grocery, housing, and health care costs for Tennessee families.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>If Behn had won the entire district, she would have joined the trend of <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/state\/3876184\/democrats-2025-election-victories-big-and-small-races\/\">Democratic victories upsetting Republicans<\/a> in the 2025 election cycle.<\/p>\n<p>Democrats have become especially confident after winning the gubernatorial races in <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/state\/3866711\/spanberger-earle-sears-virginia-woman-governor-2025-election\/\">Virginia<\/a> and <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/state\/3873467\/jack-ciattarelli-mikie-sherrill-new-jersey-governor-election\/\">New Jersey<\/a> ahead of the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/2026-elections\/\">2026 elections<\/a>, in which all House seats will be up for grabs.<\/p>\n<p>Van Epps is the latest Republican to boost the House GOP&rsquo;s narrow majority.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/3904810\/tennessee-special-election-aftyn-behn-matt-van-epps-results\/\">REPUBLICAN MATT VAN EPPS WINS TENNESSEE SPECIAL ELECTION, DASHING DEMOCRATIC HOPES OF UPSET<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>While Trump was quick to celebrate the incoming congressman&rsquo;s victory in a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/@realDonaldTrump\/posts\/115653238186658350\">Truth Social post<\/a>, Democrats warned Republicans to watch out next year.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Tonight&rsquo;s results make it clear: No House Republican&rsquo;s reelection should be considered safe next November,&rdquo; House Majority PAC spokesman CJ Warnke said. &ldquo;National Republicans were forced to pull out all the stops, spending nearly $4 million and investing in a massive turnout operation, all to salvage their candidate in a district that voted for Trump by 22% last year.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Polls overstated Democrats&#8217; chances, but gains remain<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2159,"featured_media":2516957,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/AP25337139858195.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651,538],"tags":[3685,15638,37103,6651],"class_list":["post-2516955","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","category-washington-examiner","tag-democrats","tag-polls","tag-special-election","tag-tennessee"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/AP25337139858195.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2516955","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\/2159"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2516955"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2516955\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2516959,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2516955\/revisions\/2516959"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2516957"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2516955"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2516955"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2516955"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}