As the special election in the seventh congressional district races to a conclusion on Dec. 2, out-of-state guests and money are descending upon the district to sway the election in their preferred direction.
In the last week, Democrat Aftyn Behn has brought Jasmine Crockett (via video), DNC Chaiman Ken Martin, anti-2d Amendment activist David Hogg, and former VP Kamala Harris to Tennessee to drive up the Democrats’ enthusiasm and turnout.
Big Democrat money is also beginning to show itself in mailboxes and TV ads, including support for a faux conservative candidate intended to pull just a few voters away from Republican candidate Matt Van Epps.
Van Epps has relied upon a video Townhall with President Donald Trump, who has enthusiastically endorsed him, and which reportedly drew about 15,000 viewers. There are also efforts to get the President to engage further with a robocall prior to election day. Conservative PACs and the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) are also poised to begin playing heavily in this key political race. In fact, as Tennessee GOP Chair Scott Golden told the Republican first Tuesday group earlier this week: “This is the only race taking place in the whole country right now, and the narrow Republican majority in the House may depend on what happens here.”
The district voted heavily for Trump and former Congressman Mark Green just last November, giving both 20+ point margins. Generally, the district is regarded as a +11 Republican majority. But with the timing of the election through the Thanksgiving holiday and as an off-cycle race, voter turnout will determine the winner. Many political analysts find it odd that Behn has continued to focus exclusively on the far left Democratic Party base, primarily in Davidson County, rather than attempt to appear more moderate in order to win votes in the decidedly right-of-center district. She is going to”all in” with her bet that turning out the far left portion of voters in the district will be enough for a narrow victory.
It may be a winning strategy, particularly as supporters of Van Epps’ primary opponents who are still nursing their wounds over the bitter primary contest and the attack ads launched by out-of-state groups seeking to assist Van Epps appear to be sitting this election out. One conservative political activist has asked: “how will they feel on Dec. 3 if they realize their significant role and responsibility in electing a pro-abortion, anti-law enforcement socialist Tennessee version of AOC to represent them and their neighbors in Washington?”
Democrats are also helped by their geographic advantages in early voting. In most of the counties where early voting is taking place, voters have to drive to the county seat in order to cast their votes. There are few and in many cases zero, satellite voting opportunities in most of the 14 counties in the district. That drives down early voting numbers in the majority of the rural, mostly Republican, counties that make up the district.
Meanwhile, there are six satellite voting locations in Democrat-rich Davidson County that are open through Wednesday, Nov. 26.
Even on election day, Dec. 2, most of the rural, mostly Republican counties, will have very limited voting locations open. It is a perfect geographic storm to give advantage to the Democrats in a low turnout election, and they are doing everything in their power to press their advantage.
Steve Gill is editor and Publisher of TriStar Daily.
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