Tennessee Special Election Likely to Be Surprisingly Close

A Tennessee congressional seat that President Trump and Republicans have previously won with ease became the unlikely epicenter of the fight for Congress on Monday, as House Speaker Mike Johnson headlined rallies and former Vice President Al Gore and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez exhorted a virtual audience to help Democrats mount a monumental upset. Trump even called in twice during the day to tell voters to back Matt Van Epps, the Republican candidate, in Tuesday's special election, the AP reports. First, Johnson held up his phone to the mic to let the crowd hear Trump laud Van Epps and bash his opponent, Democrat Aftyn Behn. A few hours later, Trump drove home the message during a virtual rally with Johnson, the president's second tele-rally since mid-November with Van Epps.

The crush of big-name politicians came as Trump hopes to rebound from recent Republican losses around the country as Tennessee voters choose the next representative for the reliably conservative 7th US House Congressional District on Tuesday. Democrats want a strong showing that could propel them in next year's midterm elections that will determine control of Congress. Behn, a self-proclaimed "pissed-off social worker" and progressive community organizer from Nashville, sprinted through her campaign stops, including the rally with Gore, a Tennessee native, and Ocasio-Cortez of New York. "Republicans have already lost," Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Monday. "The fact that they are spending millions of dollars to hold a seat that Donald Trump just won by 22 points is extraordinary."

Over the phone Monday, Trump told the crowd inside a decked-out garage on a supporter's sprawling farm in Franklin to "make it a sweeping victory." "The whole world is watching Tennessee right now, and they're watching your district," the president said. "It's a big vote and it's gonna show something. And it's gonna show that the Republican Party is stronger than it's ever been." Republican Party Chairman Joe Gruters, Gov. Bill Lee, and Sens. Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty also turned out for Van Epps, who previously served as an Army helicopter pilot and as a state general services commissioner. (Click for more on the race and the candidates.)