Although Tennessee 7th District Republican Congressman Mark Green hasn’t actually left office yet the revolving door of candidates in and out of that special election race has already begun. Green‘s departure is set for July 20th. Republican State Representative Jay Reedy announced his campaign, but had second thoughts and is now out of the race. On the other hand, four-term Democrat representative Vincent Dixie has decided to join fellow Democrat legislators Aftyn Behn and Bo Mitchell and pursuing the opportunity to flip the lean red district into the blue column. Dixie is former chairman of the House Democratic Caucus in Tennessee.
Although Behn lives outside the boundaries of the 14 counties that comprise the 7th district, the qualifications for candidacy set forth in the Constitution only require that the person be 25 years of age, a citizen of the US for at least seven years and live in the State (not the Congressional district) they seek to represent at the time of the election. In a video announcing his candidacy, Dixie claimed Green was leaving Congress in an act of “cowardice” after voting for Trump’s “big, beautiful bill,” which Dixie said will “devastate communities.” “I’m not running from the fight — I’m running to it. Because no one is looking out for the folks who cook our meals, teach our kids, and care for our loved ones. And that has to change,” Dixie noted in his announcement.
Republicans who have announced or filed the necessary paperwork to run include former Tennessee General Services Commissioner Matt Van Epps (who was endorsed by Mark Green this week), Rep. Jody Barrett, Rep. Lee Reeves, Montgomery County Commissioner Jason Knight of Clarksville, and U.S. Army veteran Jonathan Thorp, also from Clarksville. Mason Foley and Stewart Parks. Rep. Gino Bulso as reportedly indicated that he also plans to enter the race and is meeting with campaign consultants this week. Governor Bill Lee has indicated that he plans to set Oct. 7 as the date for the primary election and Dec. 2 for the general election. However, state coordinator of elections Mark Goins points out that
the dates are not yet confirmed.
