Aftyn Behn, a Tennessee state representative, is bucking conventional wisdom by closing the distance between herself and her Republican opponent in a deep-red district as a strident progressive.

In 2024, Rep. Mark Green, who resigned from Congress earlier this year, won the district by 22 points. As of this morning, Behn is within 2 points of Matt Van Epps, the Republican nominee for the seat, according to a survey from Wednesday.

Behn’s run also pushes back against what has become conventional wisdom in many Democratic circles: that Democrats need to chase centrist voters even harder by running more conservative candidates, in the mold of the former senator from West Virginia, Joe Manchin, who switched from a Democrat to an independent at the end of his career.

Related

Behn’s success

See Full Page