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Trump-backed Republican keeps crucial congressional seat in GOP hands with special election victory
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Republicans will hold onto a GOP-controlled vacant congressional seat in ruby-red Tennessee after winning a hotly contested special election that grabbed plenty of national attention.
Republican nominee Matt Van Epps on Tuesday defeated Democratic rival Aftyn Behn, according to the Associated Press, in the high-stakes race to succeed former GOP Rep. Mark Green, who resigned from office in June to take a private sector job.
Van Epps, after greeting supporters outside a polling station earlier in the day, told Fox News Digital, «We’re getting incredible reports back all across the district with great turnout for us, and that’s how we’re going to carry this forward and win.»
With the GOP clinging to a razor-thin majority in the House, the special election was seen as a must-win for Republicans.
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Republican congressional nominee Matt Van Epps greets supporters outside a polling station on Election Day in Franklin, Tennessee, on Dec. 2, 2025. (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)
President Donald Trump carried the 7th Congressional District — which is located in central and western Tennessee, stretches from Kentucky to Alabama, and includes parts of Nashville — by 22 points in last year’s presidential election. And Green won the district by over 20 points in his 2022 and 2024 re-elections.
But Democrats were energized following the 2025 elections, and public opinion surveys suggested a close contest between Van Epps and Behn in a showdown that was seen as a key barometer ahead of next year’s midterm elections, when the GOP will be defending its majority.
WATCH: WHAT AFTYN BEHN TOLD FOX NEWS DIGITAL ON ELECTION EVE
Asked by Fox News Digital if he needed to win the election by a certain margin, Van Epps said, «a win is a win.»
But the military combat veteran and former commissioner of the Tennessee Department of General Services added that «we’re going to press as hard as we can to win by the biggest margin we can, and then we’re going to hold the majority in ’26.»
Behn, a state representative and former healthcare community organizer, who’s been dubbed the «AOC of Tennessee» in a comparison to progressive champion Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, told supporters at a local Democratic Party office in Nashville on Tuesday morning that «whatever happens, win or lose, you’ve inspired a country. You’ve shown people the South has something to say.»
«For me, we’ve already won over the hearts and minds of so many Tennesseans and across the country,» Behn told Fox News Digital minutes later when asked if she’s a winner even without an election victory. «What starts here changes this country.»
And she added, «I think the electorate is shifting to accept a candidate like me that has a progressive track record.»
DEMOCRATS, REPUBLICANS, GO ALL IN ON FINAL 2025 CONGRESSIONAL BALLOT BOX SHOWDOWN
With so much on the line, outside groups aligned with both parties shelled out millions of dollars to run ads in the race. And the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and the rival Republican National Committee (RNC) each poured resources into the showdown, which included dispatching staffers onto the campaign trail.
House Speaker Mike Johnson spent the entire day on Election Eve with Van Epps, joining the GOP nominee at a slew of rallies and stops across the district. He was joined by RNC chair Joe Gruters.
Republican congressional nominee Matt Van Epps is joined by House Speaker Mike Johnson at an Election Eve rally in Franklin, Tennessee, on Dec. 1, 2025. (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)
«We’re going to win this seat, but we cannot take anything for granted,» Johnson said in an interview with Fox News Digital.
«Special elections are strange because a lot of people take for granted in a deep red district like this that the Republican is just going to win automatically. Nothing’s automatic. So we’re here to help turn out the vote and make sure we get this great candidate right over that line,» Johnson said.
Aiming to motivate low-propensity Trump supporters, who often don’t vote when the president’s not on the ballot, Johnson emphasized that «we need everybody to turn out.»
Before introducing Van Epps at Monday’s first rally, Johnson called Trump on his cell phone, and the president spoke to the crowd for over four minutes.
«Let’s make it a sweeping victory,» Trump said. «The whole world is watching Tennessee right now. And they’re watching your district. The whole world. It’s a big vote. It’s going to show something. It’s got to show that the Republican Party is stronger than it’s ever been.»
Trump joined Van Epps later in the day for an evening tele rally.
In another sign of the importance of holding the seat, Republican Gov. Bill Lee, GOP Sens. Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty, as well as Republican members of Congress from Tennessee, state GOP lawmakers and rival candidates who lost to Van Epps in last month’s primary, campaigned with him on Monday.
Behn also enjoyed last-minute support from high-profile surrogates.
Ocasio-Cortez; Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington state, who chaired the Congressional Progressive Caucus the past four years; Black Voters Matter Fund co-founder LaTosha Brown and former Vice President Al Gore, a Tennessee native, all spoke at an Election Eve virtual rally.
«The reason this race is competitive is because I have been at community gatherings, potlucks, funerals, weddings, with the voters in the seventh district, and they remember that,» Behn told Fox News Digital.
Behn faced repeated attacks that she’s out of step with voters in the district.
«She does not represent the values of Tennessee or of America. She is as far left as you can get. She’s a radical,» Van Epps claimed in his Fox News Digital interview. «We have to reject that ideology. And we’re going to do that tomorrow.»
Johnson argued on Monday that Behn was a «radical» and «a dangerous far leftist. And she will be a rubber stamp for Hakeem Jeffries and AOC and all the radicals in Congress.»
And Trump, repeating comments he made over the weekend on social media, charged that Behn «hates Christianity» and «hates country music.»
Trump was referring to past comments Behn made from a 2020 podcast.
«I hate the city, I hate the bachelorettes, I hate the pedal taverns, I hate country music, I hate all of the things that make Nashville apparently an ‘it’ city to the rest of the country. But I hate it,» she said in the podcast.
TENNESSEE DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE CAUGHT SAYING ‘I HATE NASHVILLE’ AND ‘COUNTRY MUSIC’ IN RESURFACED CLIP
The district is solidly red, but includes parts of the Democratic stronghold of Nashville, Tennessee’s capital and its most populous city, and a major national center for the country music industry. The district encompasses parts of north and west Nashville, including the downtown area which has long been a very popular tourist destination.
Behn, in a CNN interview on Sunday, noted that she was a «private citizen» when she made the comments. «Nashville is my home. Do I roll my eyes at the bachelorette parties and the pedal taverns that are blocking my access to my house? Yeah. Every Nashvillian does. But this race has always been about something bigger. It’s about families across middle Tennessee that are getting crushed by rising prices.»
Democratic congressional nominee Aftyn Behn speaks to supporters at a party office on Election Eve, in Franklin, Tennessee, on Dec. 1, 2025. (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)
Republicans also took aim at Behn over an op-ed titled, «Tennessee is a racist state, and so is its legislature,» that appeared in a 2019 edition of The Tennessean newspaper.
The RNC, pointing in a recent social media post to the six-year-old opinion piece, asked, «If Behn hates Tennessee so much, why is she trying to represent it?»
Also resurfacing in recent weeks are anti-police comments Behn made on a now-deleted social media account.
«Clearly, I’m living rent-free in President Trump’s mind,» Behn told supporters on Monday.
And asked by Fox News Digital about the incoming verbal fire from Republicans, Behn joked, «I always love to hear from my fans.»
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She touted that «I have a track record of showing up in the hard fights and small fights in between, not only as an organizer and as an activist, but as a legislator.»
And sticking to her key issue of tackling the high cost of living, Behn said she’s «running on a very simple message of addressing the affordability crisis that Tennesseans are facing, and they [Republicans] don’t have a remedy for it.
donald trump,mike johnson,2025 2026 elections coverage,midterm elections,republicans elections,democratic party,house of representatives,tennessee
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‘Credible intelligence’ reveals North Korea’s successor to Kim Jong Un, South Korea says
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South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) thinks that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s daughter has been lined up to be her father’s eventual successor, lawmakers noted on Monday, according to Reuters.
The NIS indicated to lawmakers that its analysis stems from what it characterized as «credible intelligence» that it had gathered, Reuters reported, citing briefings by ruling and opposition party members following a closed-door parliamentary meeting.
Video footage posted last month showed Kim and his daughter on a tank.
KIM JONG UN APPEARS WITH TEENAGE DAUGHTER AT LIVE-FIRE ROCKET TEST IN NORTH KOREA
This photo provided by the North Korean government shows its leader Kim Jong Un, front right, his daughter, reportedly named Kim Ju Ae, and other soldiers on a tank at a military training base in North Korea, on March 19, 2026. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP, File)
The South Korean agency indicated that the scene of the girl driving a tank was meant to emphasize her supposed military aptitude and counter doubts concerning a female successor, lawmakers noted, according to the outlet.
North Korean state-run media KCNA published photos of the North Korean leader and his daughter with a tank last month, following prior images of the girl utilizing firearms, Reuters reported.
The daughter is thought to be about 13 years old and named Ju Ae.
IRAN’S WAR AGAINST THE US AND ISRAEL IS BEING FUELED BY NORTH KOREAN WEAPONS, EXPERT WARNS
In this photo provided by the North Korean government, its leader Kim Jong Un’s daughter, center, tries out a new pistol at a factory producing pistols and other light arms at an undisclosed place in North Korea Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)
The outlet reported that ruling Democratic Party lawmaker Park Sun-won indicated that the scenes are meant to pay «homage» to the North Korean leader’s military appearances years ago when he was being set up to succeed his father as regime leader.
Korea Institute for National Unification analyst Hong Min said the tank scene is not enough to determine that she has been established as her father’s successor, pointing out that she appeared with her father rather than independently, unlike her father’s independent military appearances as he was being groomed to take the helm.
NORTH KOREA TESTS SOLID-FUEL MISSILE ENGINE AS KIM BOOSTS THREAT TO US MAINLAND
This picture taken on December 20, 2025, and released by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) via KNS on Dec. 23, 2025, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (R) and his daughter Ju Ae (L) inspecting the Milyong Hotel, which was recently completed in the Samjiyon tourist district of Ryanggang Province. (KCNA VIA KNS / AFP via Getty Images)
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North Korea is one of the world’s only nuclear-armed nations.
world, north korea, kim jong un
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Newsom’s California rail project now expected to cost $126B, official admits, with still no tracks laid
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California’s delayed, over-budget high-speed train from Los Angeles to San Francisco is running fast in only one direction: Rising costs to even get rolling, which are now estimated to be $126 billion.
«Today, we estimate with the right optimization just over $125 billion,» California High Speed Rail Authority board member Anthony Williams told CBS’s «60 Minutes» on Sunday. «I think $126 billion is the current estimate for that.»
That is nearly four times the $33 billion price tag presented to voters in 2008, making the long-delayed project a black eye for Democratic-run California, derided as the latest political example of «waste» in deep-blue America and a «train to nowhere.»
«We’re now in 2026: There are no trains; there’s no track laid; it was a complete bait and switch,» Rep. Vince Fong, R-Calif., told «60 Minutes,» saying the project «needs to stop.»
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Construction continues on California’s high-speed rail project in Fresno County on March 24, 2025. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg)
«The California high-speed rail nightmare is the probably quintessential example of government waste and mismanagement.»
California’s long-troubled high-speed rail project is facing renewed scrutiny after state Transportation Secretary Toks Omishakin acknowledged that many of its critics have a point.
«There were mistakes made,» Omishakin told CBS. «Some of the criticisms on this project, I think, are very fair.»
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«I don’t think the voters fully understood, and neither did we in the public sector, what it was going to take to actually get this project delivered,» Omishakin added.
Taking aim at California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, President Donald Trump called California’s project «the worst cost overrun, I’ve ever seen,» a statement he has in the past reserved for Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome Powell’s Federal Reserve Building in Washington, D.C.
«This administration is working to usher in a Golden Age of Transportation,» Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told CBS in a statement. «That vision includes high speed rail and we’re exploring opportunities to efficiently build that infrastructure in America.
NEWSOM’S FAILED LEADERSHIP HAS LET CALIFORNIA BECOME A LAND OF FRAUD AND SCAMS
«What this administration won’t stand for is boondoggle projects like Newsom’s Train to Nowhere that wasted billions in taxpayer dollars yet delivered nothing to the American people,» Duffy said. «Under President Trump, America is building again. We defunded Newsom’s disaster and created the first Trump Infrastructure Dividend. Those dollars will now actually fund critical projects that enhance safety on rail networks across America.»
Newsom himself cast doubt on the full San Francisco-to-Los Angeles plan in 2019, and the project now faces a funding gap of roughly $90 billion.
«For $10 billion, Elon Musk put 300 rockets in orbit; for $11 billion, the state of California has built 1,600 feet of elevated rail with no rail,» Palantir CTO Shyam Sankar said in 2024.
State officials say they remain confident more money can be found to dump into the project, but for now California’s high-speed rail stands as a costly symbol of ambition, delay and deep public skepticism.
‘THE DAILY SHOW’ ROASTS GAVIN NEWSOM ON HOMELESSNESS, HIGH-SPEED RAIL IN SATIRICAL ‘LEADING MAN’ VIDEO
«The ultimate 494 miles of building this out without the federal government’s help will be challenging: There’s no doubt about that,» Omishakin said.
Nearly two decades since the start of the project, no track has been laid, and the only major visible progress is on a Central Valley segment between Bakersfield and Merced, according to the report.
The project’s earliest projected opening is now 2033, far later than originally promised. Critics, including Bakersfield’s Fong, a member of the House Transportation Committee.
CALIFORNIA IS BROKE, BUT IT’S NOT TOO LATE FOR THE REST OF US
«The business plan that was put out in 2008 was very theoretical,» Fong said. «You know, ‘This is what we think is gonna happen.’
«And it became very clear that they didn’t have the specifics worked out.»
Fong has sought oversight and accountability on the waste, including 597 change orders that have cost more than $2.3 billion alone as of November 2025, which is nearly 7% of the initial $33 billion project estimate.
Gov. Gavin Newsom and California High-Speed Rail Authority CEO Ian Choudri, middle, greet Iron Workers Local 155 members at the Southern Railhead site in the Wasco/Shafter area in Wasco, Feb. 3, 2026. (Damian Dovarganes/AP)
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«Taxpayers deserve full transparency and accountability,» Fong wrote in a statement in February. «The high-speed rail nightmare is a glaring example of structural mismanagement.
«Reckless, repeated contract amendments have squandered resources and precious tax dollars. Hardworking California taxpayers cannot afford to let this continue. This project should be canceled before even more money and time are wasted.»
los angeles, costs, gavin newsom, san francisco, california
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