Republicans dodged a bullet Tuesday night when Republican candidate Matt Van Epps defeated far-left progressive Democrat Aftyn Behn by just nine points in a district that Donald Trump won by 22 points a year ago. But make no mistake: the socialist election cannon is still locked, loaded, and aimed at Central America.
A win is a win, but Van Epps’ relatively small margin of victory will set off alarm bells nationwide among Republicans and embolden the socialist wing of the Democratic Party, which is quickly establishing its dominance.
This election is also an affirmation for all those people in the Volunteer State with T-shirts and bumper stickers that say “Don’t California my Tennessee,” because just as non-native New Yorkers pushed democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani to victory in Gotham, transplants have been a great boon for Behn.
State Rep. Aftyn Behn, a Democratic congressional candidate, attends a campaign event during the special election for Tennessee’s 7th District in Nashville, Tennessee, on November 13. (George Walker IV/AP Photo)
In recent years, Nashville’s population has grown by about 100 citizens per day, about 30,000 souls per year, and many come from blue states with high taxes and high crime. Unfortunately, many seem willing to take their failed politics with them.
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The appeal of Tennessee is clear. In fact, I thought so myself when I escaped New York City in 2023 before settling in vastly superior West Virginia. There is a high quality of life and low cost of living, and overall Tennessee is just a nice place to live.
Democrats understand these demographic changes in red states, and many will now argue that Behn’s success shows that the growth strategy here is to appeal to younger, far-left voters, not the Joe Manchin-esque, blue-dog Democrats in their 60s found here and there at the VFW.
Meanwhile, Republicans have expressed joy at the way President Trump has appealed to young voters in the past, especially young men. The problem is that these gains virtually disappear if Trump is not on the ballot.
I’m a young democrat and I have to admit my party is losing 2025 while I’m looking at 2028
Part of this divide stems from the fact that much of the economic populism that makes Trump attractive to young male voters, including things like $2,000 tariff rebates, are exactly the things that more traditional Republicans object to in Trump’s platform.
Senator Bernie Sanders, Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez pose for a photo in Astoria, Queens, September 6, 2025. (@ZohranKMamdani via X)
What’s almost funny about the way this special election played out was that the only part of the district that Behn won, and decisively, was Nashville, a city she famously, and recently said, hated.
This shouldn’t be a surprise; one of the main things that far left and socialists do is disconnect a place from its roots. That’s how you end up in places like Portland, Oregon, where a “tree” is put up instead of a “Christmas tree.”AFTYN BEHN RAISES QUESTIONS ABOUT POLICE FUNDING, POLICY PEOPLE WITH KAMALA HARRIS
In her concession speech, Behn said her campaign was the start of “something powerful in Tennessee and in the South.” She could very well be right, because Nashville isn’t the only one turning bright blue.
Durham, North Carolina, has basically the politics of Brooklyn, and cities like Nashville and Nashville are growing at a much higher rate than the reliably red rural counties that have traditionally kept Dixie conservative.
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The Socialists and Progressive Democrats are playing a long game in the South. Note that, with the exception of Bernie Sanders, their leaders such as Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, newly elected New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Behn, are all in their 30s. They have time on their side.
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Like Moses, Bernie Sanders may have gone to the socialist mountaintop, but it is his followers who want to reach the land promised by Marxists.
Republicans should take these warnings seriously. Say what you will about the principles of socialism, but at least it is an ethos. At this point, no one seems to know exactly what Trumpism is, except Trump himself. That has to change.
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The next year, before the midterms, and the next two before the next presidential elections, Trumpian populism must become bigger than Trump. In fact, Trump may have to determine not only the priorities of his administration, but also the future of the Grand Old Party.
Tennessee was out of California on Tuesday night, which is very good, but the trends are not good for Republicans. Democrats have a new identity as socialists, and it does not appear to be disqualifying. So which identity will the Republican party choose?
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