Trump-backed Republican Matt Van Epps wins US House special election in Tennessee

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3. Republican holds House seat in election on Trump turf, as Democrats gain ground

Republicans held on to a ruby red congressional district Tuesday, winning a special election in Tennessee that became more competitive than initially expected.

The victory by Matt Van Epps, a 42-year-old former lieutenant colonel in the Tennessee Army National Guard who aligned himself with President Donald Trump, capped a contest that tested voters’ attitudes about Trump’s agenda and Democrats’ response less than a year before the midterms. Van Epps defeated Aftyn Behn, a 36-year-old left-leaning state representative who frequently mentioned economic concerns on the campaign trail.

Van Epps’s win in the 7th District, projected by the Associated Press Tuesday night, preserves Republicans’ 219-213 advantage in the House. But his final margin was on pace to be much smaller than the 22-point edge Trump had in the district last year and the 21-point win Republican Rep. Mark Green — who resigned from Congress in July — secured the same day. With 86 percent of the vote tallied, Van Epps led by about six percentage points.

Van Epps, much like the Republicans who helped him at the close of his campaign, nationalized the race in celebrating his win, arguing the victory “represented a defining moment for Tennessee and for the direction of the country” and shows that “running with Trump is how you win” as a Republican. Van Epps did not acknowledge the apparent margin in his statement.

https://wapo.st/3Mz0PRb