Republican Matt Van Epps narrowly defeated Democrat Aftyn Behn in Tuesday’s hotly contested special election for Tennessee’s 7th District House seat.

Behn had raised Democrats’ hopes for an upset in the conservative stronghold after late polling showed the state lawmaker within striking distance of Van Epps, a former Army helicopter pilot backed by President Trump.

Van Epps led by about 6 percentage points with 85% of ballots counted Tuesday night, when the Associated Press called the race for the Republican at 9:37 p.m.

“Congratulations to Matt Van Epps on his BIG Congressional WIN in the Great State of Tennessee,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “The Radical Left Democrats threw everything at him, including Millions of Dollars.

“Another great night for the Republican Party!!! Presid

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