Van Epps Wins Special GOP Primary in Tennessee Race to Replace Mark Green’s House Seat

Van Epps is a former Tennessee commissioner of General Services and was endorsed by both President Donald Trump and former Rep. Mark Green (R-Tenn.).

U.S. Seventh Congressional District candidate Matt Van Epps speaks during a political forum in Dickson, Tenn., on Sept. 8, 2025. George Walker IV/AP Photo

Matt Van Epps, Tennessee’s former commissioner of General Services, won a special primary election for the Republican nomination to the U.S. House of Representatives from the state’s Seventh Congressional District on Oct. 7, according to projections from The Associated Press.

Democrat Aftyn Behn, a state representative, won the Democratic nomination.

Van Epps ran to succeed former Rep. Mark Green (R-Tenn.), who resigned from Congress earlier this year in order to start a private business venture. Van Epps had Green’s endorsement in the race, as well as the support of President Donald Trump, who issued a supportive message on Truth Social on Oct. 3.

Before Trump’s endorsement, Van Epps was polling at approximately 7 percent in an opinion poll taken by Americans for Prosperity.

Tennessee’s Seventh District has a Cook Partisan Voting Index score of R+10, meaning that a Republican nominee is heavily favored to win the general election, which will be held on Dec. 2.

“Thank you to the people of Middle and West Tennessee!“ Van Epps said in a social media post. ”Our Donald J. Trump-endorsed campaign won in a landslide. ... Now, on to December 2nd! We’re going to win the general and keep this seat RED!”

During his primary campaign, Van Epps highlighted a regular slate of conservative issues as the policy reasons to support him. These included opposition to abortion, opposition to transgender-identifying athletes in women’s sporting competitions, support for the Second Amendment, support for the Trump administration’s border security initiatives, and support for Israel during its war against the Hamas terrorist group.

He also highlighted agricultural issues, a local concern in his district, which encompasses some suburbs of Nashville and large rural swaths in the center of the state.

Green’s resignation had affected the composition of the House Republican Conference, which has a very slim majority over Democrats and which cannot afford more than a few defections in order to pass legislation. Should Van Epps be the winner of the special general election, his entry to the House will allow Republicans to retain their party’s current majority size.

Another special general election, recently held in Arizona on Sept. 23, returned Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva (D-Ariz.) as the winner. She is expected to be sworn in on or after Oct. 14.