A Tennessee Republican is sounding the alarm after Democrats overperformed in a deep-red district during a special election on Tuesday, according to a new report.
On Tuesday, Republican Matt Van Epps, a Trump-endorsed military veteran, beat Democrat Aftyn Behn in the special election for the Tennessee 7th Congressional District seat. Van Epps won the election by 9 points in a district that President Donald Trump carried by more than 20 points during the 2024 election. Some election experts have said that the result is a sign of the momentum Democrats have as the 2026 midterm elections approach.
Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) discussed the election results with CNN's Manu Raju on Wednesday, The Hill reported.
“I’m always concerned, to be honest,” Burchett told Raju about the election results.
“We got a real problem, and we'd better wake up,” he continued.
Burchett's comments happened at a time when Democrats appear to have significant momentum ahead of the midterm. Democrats won the Governor's offices in New Jersey and Virginia in November. Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani won the New York City mayoral race as well in a campaign that primarily discussed affordability.
Trump recently raged at Democrats winning with a message focused on affordability, calling it a "Democrat scam."