Van Epps defeated Democrat Aftyn Behn, NBC News projects, after an expensive campaign to replace former Rep. Mark Green.

Republicans have held onto a conservative U.S. House district in Tennessee. But that victory in a special election Tuesday came only after a late burst of national spending and high-profile campaigning.

Republican candidate Matt Van Epps won the District 7 seat on Tuesday, Dec. 2. The 34-year-old combat veteran and former commissioner of the Tennessee Department of General Services, overtook Aftyn Behn, a progressive Democratic state representative, by single digits, USA TODAY reported.

Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District special election will be held on Dec. 2. Here's what to know and how to keep up with results.

On Feb 6, 2022, Tennessee's current congressional map went into effect, redrawing District 7. Districts 4, 5 and 6 were redrawn to split up Davidson, Williamson and Wilson counties. Nashville, historically a Democratic stronghold, was then broken up into three congressional districts.

The Tennessee results continued a trend of big swings toward Democrats compared to the last presidential results. But the party might have left an opportunity on the table.

Republican Matt Van Epps won a special election on Tuesday to represent Tennessee's 7th Congressional District.

Republican Matt Van Epps won the Tennessee 7th Congressional special election, but Aftyn Behn's overperformance has Democrats celebrating, too, and sets up an affordability focus in the 2026 midterms.

Voters in Tennessee elected Republican Matt Van Epps to fill a vacant U.S. House of Representatives seat, U.S. media outlets projected on Tuesday, padding the narrow lead by President Donald Trump's party in the chamber heading into next year's midterm elections.