President Donald Trump’s decision to wade in with a late endorsement in the Tennessee special election to succeed Republican former Rep. Mark E. Green has shaken up the race in its final days.
The president on Friday endorsed Matt Van Epps, the former commissioner of the Tennessee Department of General Services, solidifying the combat veteran’s status as the candidate to beat in Tuesday’s Republican primary for Tennessee’s 7th District. Trump was set to hold a tele-rally Monday night along with the Club for Growth PAC to gin up support for Van Epps on the eve of the election.
“A West Point Graduate, and Combat Decorated Army Helicopter Pilot, Matt knows the WISDOM and COURAGE required to Defend our Country, Support our Incredible Military/Veterans, and Ensure PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform.
The endorsement also prompted two Republicans, state Rep. Lee Reeves and businessman Stuart Cooper, to suspend their campaigns for the Middle Tennessee district, which includes parts of Nashville and extends between the state’s northern and southern borders. Their names will still be on the ballot, along with nine other candidates, and both have likely already secured early votes in the primary. But both urged supporters who hadn’t yet voted to support Van Epps.
“Throughout the campaign, I consistently told voters that President Trump is our quarterback — he calls the plays,” Reeves said in a statement. “The words I said on the campaign trail were not hollow. I meant them. I support our President, and if this is the call he has made, I will back him up.”
Van Epps had already consolidated significant support for his campaign before Trump’s endorsement. Green, who resigned from the House this summer for an unspecified business opportunity, and House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan of Ohio had both previously endorsed him, with Jordan’s PAC running ads on his behalf. Last week, Republican Gov. Bill Lee also threw his support behind Van Epps, a former member of his cabinet.
Early voting ended Thursday, and nearly as many Democrats had already cast ballots as Republicans, according to the Tennessee Secretary of State’s office, which said 18,203 Republicans had voted early compared with 17,825 Democrats.
Prior to Trump weighing in, the Republican candidates had spent months making their case to voters for why they were best suited to support the president and Republican leaders in Washington. In recent weeks, the primary had largely centered on four candidates: Van Epps, Reeves and state Reps. Jody Barrett and Gino Bulso.
The GOP hopefuls also include former Capitol Hill aide Mason Foley, who is seeking to be the first Gen Z Republican in Congress, and Stewart Parks, who received a pardon from Trump after serving time in federal prison over his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
Parks, in a statement posted to social media Sunday, alleged that Van Epps’ campaign had told supporters that Parks had suspended his campaign.
Four Democrats — state Reps. Aftyn Behn, Bo Mitchell and Vincent Dixie, as well as businessman Darden Copeland — are seeking their party’s nomination and hope to build on a string of Democratic overperformances in special elections around the country this year.
Trump carried the 7th District by about 22 points in last year’s election, according to calculations by The Downballot, and Green was reelected by a similar margin. But since Trump took office, Democrats have improved on their 2024 results in special elections in Iowa, Florida and Pennsylvania by double digits, offering them hope that the Tennessee contest could provide an opportunity for an upset.
The Club for Growth’s backing of Van Epps comes as an affiliated super PAC, the School Freedom Fund, has spent heavily to oppose Barrett, who voted against a school voucher program measure in the state legislature earlier this year. Since Friday, the group has made several investments to boost Van Epps, including for digital advertising and text messaging, bringing their total investment in the race to more than $850,000 as of Monday.
Conservatives for American Excellence Inc. had also spent $606,000 supporting Van Epps and opposing Barrett.
Other outside groups have also invested in the race. House Freedom Action, the political arm of the hard-line House Freedom Caucus, spent $472,000 trying to counter the attacks on Barrett.
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