Democrats spar over electability at Tennessee Congressional District 7 forum

Candidates for the Democratic nomination in Tennessee’s Congressional District 7 special election participated in a Nashville forum on Sept. 9. From left, Rep. Vincent Dixie, Rep. Aftyn Behn, businessman Darden Copeland and Rep. Bo Mitchell.

The four Democrats vying for a GOP-held Middle Tennessee congressional seat agreed that December’s special election was about serving as a check on the Trump administration.

But each one thought only they were the electable choice.

Primary voters will vote in a special election on Oct. 7 for the Tennessee 7th U.S. Congressional District triggered by the resignation of Mark Green.

On Tuesday, a coalition of progressive groups including TIRRC Votes, The Equity Alliance, The Central Labor Council and Planned Parenthood held a forum at Nashville’s First Baptist Church, Capitol Hill, with businessman Darden Copeland and Nashville state Reps. Aftyn Behn, Vincent Dixie and Bo Mitchell. 

Behn — who has been endorsed by Indivisible, a progressive political organizing group — said the only way a Democrat could win the seat was with energized turnout, which she could deliver by mobilizing voters with her progressive policies.

The 7th District’s primary election serves as the latest fight between the progressive wing of the party and moderate Democrats who vastly differ on how to win future elections.

Copeland, a first time candidate, said that whoever won the primary would face “a math problem,” mentioning he felt the need to run for the seat but didn’t specify how he would solve the problem. 

Since the district was redrawn in 2022, Green has defeated Democrats in back-to-back elections by 20%, with the Cook Political Report rating the seat as a “solid Republican.”

Dixie, a resident of the district’s North Nashville area, said winning the election would be about building a coalition and nominating someone who has lived the issues of the district.

Mitchell, a seven-term lawmaker from Dickson, said the race was about reaching out to rural voters, listening to them and convincing them to “quit voting against their self-interests.”

Few issues separate candidates from each other and Trump in Tennessee Congressional Debate

The district encompasses the western half of Middle Tennessee before taking a claw-like shape out of Nashville and Williamson County.

On the Republican side, nearly a dozen candidates are running for the nomination.

Americans for Prosperity Tennessee and SuperTalk 99.7 hosted a debate with Dickson state Rep. Jody Barrett, Brentwood state Rep. Gino Bulso, Franklin state Rep. Lee Reeves, and former Tennessee General Services Commissioner Matt Van Epps, the four candidates polling highest in a recent survey by AFP Tennessee. Very few issues separated the GOP candidates, all agreeing that their job in Congress would be to support President Trump.

The general election is on December 2.