Super PACs have now spent $7 million in Middle TN U.S. House special election with a week to go

Democratic Nashville state rep. Aftyn Behn, left, and Republican former Tennessee General Services Commissioner Matt Van Epps, right, will face off in a special election for Tennessee’s 7th U.S. Congressional District. (Photos by John Partipilo)

With one week until the Dec. 2 special election for Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District, the money is pouring in, signaling both parties think the race is competitive. 

Former Tennessee General Services Commission Matt Van Epps, a Republican, was slightly favored by most political rating organizations to defeat state Rep. Aftyn Behn, a Democrat, in the special election to replace retired former U.S. Rep. Mark Green. The district was redrawn in 2022 to include parts of Nashville, Clarksville, and a swath of rural and suburban Tennessee counties with strong GOP leanings. Green won the district in 2022 and 2024 by nearly identical 20-percentage point margins. 

But as President Donald Trump’s approval rating has steadily dropped over the last few months because of the government shutdown, his handling of SNAP benefits and the impacts of tariffs on farmers and consumers, the Democratic Party has sensed an opportunity. 

Political action committees, PACs, tied to Democratic donors have spent almost $1.8 million in the race to help Behn, and Republican-tied PACs have spent $2.3 million, according to Federal Election Commission filings as of Nov. 24. The latest spending in the general election comes after nearly $3 million was mostly to help ensure a Van Epps victory. 

Of the $4.1 million spent so far, more than two-thirds has been spent on negative advertising about Behn and Van Epps. 

For Democrats, the vast majority of their PAC money has been spent by two groups: HMP and Your Community PAC.

The largest individual donors to HMP this year are Democratic Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, whose family owns the Hyatt hotel chain, and Reed Hastings, the founder of Netflix. The HMP PAC also received a significant contribution from the House Majority Forward, a campaign arm of U.S. House Democratic leadership. 

Your Community PAC’s money doesn’t link back to an individual donor but to a group called North Fund, whose donors are untraceable. The North Fund, as of 2024, was run by a Washington, D.C. consultant named Jim Gerstein, who has served as a pollster and independent expenditure campaign organizer in support of several Democratic Party candidates. 

For Republicans, MAGA Inc. has spent nearly $1.2 million in the race, with Club for Growth and  Conservatives for American Excellence spending a combined $1 million. 

MAGA Inc. is Trump’s primary PAC, whose largest individual donors this year are Jeff Yass, a billionaire investor who most notably owns a significant stake in Chinese social video company TikTok, and Kelcy Warren, the billionaire owner of Energy Transfer Partners. 

Conservatives for American Excellence spent around $600,000 in the primary to help Van Epps. The organization has received most of its donations from Ken Griffin and Paul Singer, billionaire owners of two hedge funds.

Club For Growth’s main backers are Yass and Virginia James, a long-time conservative donor and supporter of private school vouchers. Club for Growth also funds the School Freedom Fund, which spent around $850,000 to help Van Epps in the primary and spent more than $3.3 million in 2024 to elect a slate of pro-private-school voucher supporters to Tennessee’s state legislature.