Nashville, Tenn. (AP)-A special elections in Tennessee to replace a Republican congress member who stepped aside this summer has led to overcrowded primary for both vast parties, a fresh test for one of three districts that GOP legislators described as unthreatening red by separating the left Nashville in 2022.
The race to fill the seat cleared by the former US representative brand.
On the primary Tuesday there were 11 Republican candidates, including the representatives of the state representatives. Jody Barrett, Gino Bulso and Lee Reeves as well as a one -time representative of the Republican governor Bill Lee, Matt van Epps, all of whom were considered liberal.
But Van Epps landed a slow confirmation from Trump on Friday and asked Reeves to announce that he suspended his campaign and supported Van Epps.
Four Democrats from Nashville, including the representatives of the state, Vincent Dixie, Aftyn Behn and Bo Mitchell, and the businessman Dard Copeland, have arrived their party and hope that the massive expenditure and tax reduction that was signed at the beginning of this year will be unpopular enough to win the general elections on December 2.
The unusually vast field can be a product of a choice outside the year that enables the members of the State House to run for the congress without extending their seats or leading the simultaneous races.
A republican argument
The 7th congress district extends over 14 counties and borders on Kentucky and Alabama. The voters chose 21 percentage points in 2024 and in 2022 by almost 22 points. Together with parts of Nashville, they include rural areas, wealthy suburbs and part of the military installation Fort Campbell.
On the GOP side, the attention is largely focused on Bulso, Barrett and van Epps, who received the slow thrust of Trump the day after personal coordination.
But other Republicans also have significant campaign money.
Bulso, a lawyer from Brentwood, has often sponsored socially conservative laws that are aimed at the LGBTQ community, such as a failed draft law from 2024, which would have largely banned to show Pride flags in public school classes.
Barrett is a lawyer of Dickson, whose website describes him as the “most conservative state representative in the history of Tennessee”. His voice against governor Lee’s nationwide school voucher expansion has drawn the anger for interest groups for the maid school selection, which have heavily attacked him. He said he fought “Die Linke” and pushed back against the “elites in my own party”. He praised a tax auditory initiative for school selection, which was advertised by Trump.
Until recently, van Epps was Lee’s Commissioner for General Services, who was responsible for the provision of goods and services for the state government. He focused on his military experiences, including a lieutenant chief of the Tennessee Army National Guard and as a helicopter pilot from Army Special Operations.
Van Epps collected $ 358,700 by mid-September and Barrett collected $ 241,900. Bulso collected 56,000 US dollars and lent around $ 494,000. Candidate money still comes in, including Bulso, which is added to 200,000 US dollars more of his money.
Mason Foley, a businessman and former employee of Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell, collected 71,300 US dollars and borrowed his 325,000 US dollar. Stewart Parks, who was pardoned by Trump after entering the Capitol on January 6, 2021, collected 35,500 US dollars and contributed around 300,000 US dollars for his campaign through contributions and loans.
Exterior groups have spent more than 2.5 million US dollars, almost all on the GOP page, with about 1 million US dollars against Barrett.
Also for the GOP nomination, Montgomery County Commissioner Jason Knight compete; Stuart Cooper, a Franklin businessman; Adolph Agbéko Dagan, a businessman of Clarksville; former state legislative employee TRES WITTUM; And Joe Leurs, a retired police in Nashville, who covert Detective from Nashville.
Van Epps landed notes by Lee and former Rep. Green; Barrett from the House Freedom Fund and Country musician John Rich; and Bulso, former Nascar driver Darrell Waltrip.
Democrats test their message
In addition to his tariffs, the four democratic candidates take all democratic candidates on Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill” on the campaign path.
Behn is a social worker and organizer of the municipality, which has focused on the reproductive health of women, also as a plaintiff in a lawsuit against a law of Tennessee that prohibits adults to support minors without receiving an abortion without a parental permit. A judge stopped enforcing the provision.
Dixie, a businessman in the deposit -Bond industry, has been the first black leader of a legislative caucus in state history. In a campaign video of a garbage car, he said that “Washington had built garbage for working families”.
Mitchell, who works in the services of the employees, has focused on access to health care and its roots in Dickson County, a rural part of the district.
Copeland founded the company for public affairs called Calvert Street Group and was worked as a consultant for democratic campaigns. He has confiscated himself in being in a private sector in one area of ​​chosen civil servants.
Copeland led the fundraising race from mid-september with $ 334,900 and a loan of $ 100,000. Mitchell collected 202,800 US dollars, BEHN brought in 149,000 US dollars and Dixie was $ 138,200.
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