A total of four candidates are seeking the Democratic Party’s nomination to represent Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. With early voting started, Nashville businessman and political consultant Darden Copeland and State Representatives Aftyn Behn (D-Nashville), Vincent Dixie (D-Nashville), and Bo Mitchell (D-Nashville) are making their case to Tennessee Democrats ahead of the primary election on October 7.
All seeking to win a seat ranked solidly Republican by the Cook Political Report, the Democrats have suggested different approaches to secure a majority. Multiple candidates have suggested strategies to expand the Democratic coalition into rural Tennessee, while Behn has argued the winning candidate must increase Democratic turnout will swing the district.
Behn most recently seemed to allude to this argument when addressing a “repulsive” rumor, apparently alleging “nefarious” conduct in her office, during a Friday interview with The Tennessee Holler.
“It’s showing that I’m ahead in the polls right now in the Democratic primary, and so there’s a lot of repulsive activity from perhaps some of the candidates,” said Behn, seemingly suggesting one of her primary opponents could be responsible for the nebulous rumor.
She told the Lookout, “Whoever is doing this, if it’s on the Democratic side, I hope I beat you in less than two weeks, and then in December, I think it’s going to turn out a lot of women to vote, because at its core, it is utterly misogynistic.”
Behn said turnout would play a major role in the special election during a September 9 candidate forum in Nashville, which was sponsored by Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC) Votes, the Equity Alliance, the Central Labor Council, and Planned Parenthood.
“I have the highest total voter turnout of any Democratic state legislator in the 2024 cycle, I made my living mobilizing rural, small town voters across the country,” Behn said in her closing statement. “I have a track record of turning people out. This election is about turnout, mobilization, and excitement.”
Earlier in her speech, she told Democratic primary voters, “If you think Democrats haven’t been fighting for you the past 20 years, I am your candidate.”
By contrast, Mitchell said the election was about “closing the gap in those rural areas,” and cautioned voters about the party’s approach.
“You can’t go into these rural areas, and preach to them, and tell them how you’re organizing them,” said Mitchell. “You have to listen to them, and listen to their needs, and bring forth ideas that will help them, and help them understand the policies of the Democratic Party are helping them, and get them to quit voting against their self interests.”
Without referencing the rural part of the district, Dixie said the special election is an opportunity for inter-party coalition building.
“This is an opportunity for us,” said the Nashville Democrat. “I can build a coalition between all of the grassroots organizations and the treetop organizations.”
Describing himself as a “different kind of Democrat,” Copeland nonetheless said agreed with his opponents on “most things,” with the apparent exception of campaign strategy.
“We are trying to solve a math problem, and we differ on how to solve that math problem,” said Copeland.
Copeland currently leads the field in fundraising, as the latest Federal Election Commission (FEC) data shows the candidate has raised just under $435,000. About $125,000 of the funding was contributed by the candidate, including through a $100,000 loan by Copeland to his campaign.
Mitchell had raised the second most by the most recent FEC deadline, about $203,000, including a $10,000 self-contribution. Behn raised just over $149,000, and Dixie’s total receipts are just over $138,000.
Prompted by the mid-term retirement of former U.S. Representative Mark Green (R-TN-07), the special election approaches after Democratic National Committee (DNC) chair has said the party will seek to flip the district, as well as the neighboring 5th Congressional District.
Despite the attention from the DNC, and at least one candidate citing her previous experience at turning out the vote, an underwhelming showing in early voting led one prominent Democrat to warn of a, “total collapse of electoral engagement in Nashville.”
“In the Nashville portion of the 7th congressional district, there are 116,330 registered, ‘active’ voters,” wrote Lisa Quigley, who served as Chief of Staff to retired U.S. Representative Jim Cooper. “Fewer than 3% have voted so far. A tiny percentage will choose the democrat and republican nominees by October 7th, and then a tinier percentage will choose our next member of congress on December 2.”
The Tennessee Star reported in its Saturday Insider Brief that Republicans have cast 10,503 early ballots to select their primary candidate, compared to just 8,809 from Democrats. Just 3,787 of the early ballots cast for Democrats were from voters in Davidson County.
After nominees are chosen on October 7, candidates will have less than two months to make their case before the general election on December 2.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Darden Copeland” by Darden Copeland, “Aftyn Behn” by Aftyn Behn, “Vincent Dixie” by Vincent Dixie, and “Bo Mitchell” by Bo Mitchell.Â
Let’s not forget that Behn was the head of the leftist anti-MAGA group for TN called Indivisible. She is your typical left of left progressive and we don’t need her in any political
Office at any level.