Republican Matt Van Epps has won a hotly contested special election for a deep-red congressional seat in Tennessee , NBC News projects, seeing off a Democratic challenge for the longtime GOP district.

Though President Donald Trump carried the 7th Congressional District by 22 points in 2024, Republican super PACs poured millions into defending the seat as Van Epps faced off against Aftyn Behn, a Democratic state representative. Democrats spent almost as much trying to capture it, as Trump’s political standing has taken a hit this year and the Democratic Party made gains in November elections in New Jersey, Virginia and other states.

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Still, this red district remained Republican. Van Epps, an Army veteran and for

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