Winner projected in hotly contested Tennessee special election

Republican Matt Van Epps has been projected as the winner in a highly anticipated special election for Tennessee's 7th Congressional District.

This race, which has been watched for months, was initially not expected to be competitive, with President Donald Trump carrying the district by a whopping 22 points last year. The race was projected to go in Van Epps' favor by Decision Desk around 9:06 p.m. Eastern Time. Van Epps was leading with about 53% of the vote and about 65% of districts reporting. CNN and NBC News projected Van Epps as the winner in the race around 9:30 p.m. Eastern.

President Donald Trump congratulated Van Epps on his Truth Social platform.

"Congratulations to Matt Van Epps on his BIG Congressional WIN in the Great State of Tennessee," wrote Trump. "The Radical Left Democrats threw everything at him, including Millions of Dollars. Another great night for the Republican Party!!!"

As the election drew nearer, Democratic candidate Aftyn Behn generated intense buzz with a relentless campaign that polls showed was within single digits and even nearly tied at one point.

Republicans rushed to prop up Matt Van Epps, fearing a potential upset as special elections this year showed a sharp swing toward Democrats, and remembering explosive losses in Trump's first term, like the Alabama Senate race.

In the final runup to the race, Tennessee Republicans sounded the alarm, with Rep. Tim Burchett saying on Fox News, "We've already got people leaving, talks of others leaving ... this is the proverbial canary in the cave! If Matt Van Epps ... can't carry this thing, we're in trouble. Republicans are asleep at the switch!”

Both Democrats and Republicans went into the night expecting that even if the GOP still succeeded, there would be a massive Democratic overperformance, with potential implications for next year's midterm elections as Republicans defend their majorities in the House and Senate.