Trump tries to dial up Republican votes on eve of US House special election in Tennessee
December 1, 2025
President Donald Trump and top Republicans are making a last-ditch push to prevent embarrassment in a hotly contested Tennessee special election for Congress. Democrats, meanwhile, enlisted former Vice President Al Gore and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to back their candidate with a virtual rally Monday. House Speaker Mike Johnson appeared in Franklin on Monday to boost GOP candidate Matt Van Epps in the 7th Congressional District race. Johnson put Trump on the phone to address the crowd. Van Epps faces Democratic state Rep. Aftyn Behn. Last year, the district went to former GOP Rep. Mark Green by 21 percentage points and to Trump by a similar margin.