Tennessee CD 7 Race Shouldn't Have Been a Nail-Biter

Why was the margin between the two candidates in yesterday's Tennessee 7th Congressional District race so thin?

Tennessee is a state Trump won last year by nearly 30%, and he took the district by 22%. He urged his supporters over the weekend to show up at the polls to support the Republican candidate.

"I am asking all America First Patriots in Tennessee's 7th Congressional District, who haven't voted yet, to please GET OUT AND VOTE on Election Day, Tuesday, December 2nd, for a phenomenal Candidate, Matt Van Epps," Trump said Sunday on Truth Social.

And the distinction between Van Epps and Aftyn Behn, his Democratic opponent dubbed the "AOC of Tennessee" by some, couldn’t have been more pronounced.

"Matt is fighting against a woman who hates Christianity, will take away your guns, wants Open Borders, Transgender for everybody, men in women's sports, and openly disdains Country music," Trump continued.

"She said all of these things precisely, and without question — IT'S ON TAPE!" Trump's Sunday post added. "Do not take this Race for granted."

Behn also claimed at one point that she hated Nashville, a city she represents in the state legislature, but last month denied she ever said it.

"The national GOP's new attack? That I 'hate Nashville.' I've cried in the Country Music Hall of Fame no less than 10 times. They're panicking because we're close to winning," she posted on Twitter/X. "Eyes on the prize, y'all. Let's go."

However, that claim earned a community note that said, "On the 2/1/2020 episode of GRITS (available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts), Behn claimed she hated Nashville and other aspects of the city," and added this link.

Additionally, independent journalist Greg Price provided an audio track of Behn.

"I hate the city, I hate the bachelorettes, I hate the pedal taverns, I hate country music, I hate all of the things that make Nashville," she said. "I hate it."

Also last month Behn was caught off guard during an appearance on MS NOW (formerly MSNBC), when presented with old tweets indicating that she supported defunding police. Host Catherine Rampell asked, "Do you still stand by those tweets?"

Behn didn't answer. "mean, I'm, I'm once again, I'm here to talk about my race, which is in uh literally nine days."

Van Epps highlighted the differences between he and his opponent Tuesday morning, which he said "cannot be more clear."

"I'm a Christian, a husband, a father, an America First conservative, a combat veteran. I served in Iraq and Afghanistan as a helicopter pilot, served in state government, led in small business, still serving in the National Guard . . . " 

With all those differences, in the deep red 7th Congressional District of deeper red Tennessee, it should have been a blowout for Van Epps, but not according to polling data.

An Emerson College poll released last week had Van Epps leading, but only by two points 48-46%, with the remainder undecided.

Moreover, Behn was already leading Van Epps in early voting, according to what the polling executive director, Spencer Kimball, wrote in a statement.

"Those who report voting early break for Behn, 56% to 42%, whereas those who plan to vote on Election Day break for Van Epps, 51% to 39%," he said.

Journalist Pamela Geller offered a hint as to why it was so close.

"Nashville and its surrounding communities — Franklin, Williamson County — have been magnets for Americans fleeing blue-state decline,” she observed.

"New Yorkers, New Jersians, Californians, Illinoisans have poured into Tennessee for lower taxes, safer streets, and a way of life built on faith, family, and freedom.

"These are people leaving progressive failure behind — yet here we are discussing whether an ultra-left candidate hostile to the very culture that draws people to Tennessee could actually be competitive."

Van Epps won in the end. Newsmax called it shortly after 9pm, The Associated Press about 40 minutes later, and although it was a decent, better than predicted spread, it wasn’t the blowout that it should have been.

Whether it was due to transplants from blue states, the fact that it was a special, off-year election, or some other factor, Republican voters have to make a point of showing up en masse to vote at every election — just like Democrats do.

That’s especially important given the woke, hard-left turn Democrats have taken in recent years. We need to maintain control of Congress next year, plus repeat that and keep the White House in 2028.

Maintaining our unique American identity — individual liberty, a free market economy, and personal responsibility — depends on it.

Michael Dorstewitz is a retired lawyer and is a frequent contributor to Newsmax. He's also a former U.S. Merchant Marine officer and a Second Amendment supporter. Read Michael Dorstewitz's Reports — More Here.