Aftyn Behn Gets Horrific News Just Hours Before Election
Tennessee Democrat Aftyn Behn — now running in a high-stakes special election for a U.S. House seat — struggled mightily on CNN when pressed about her past anti-police rhetoric and her current stance on law enforcement funding.
CNN host Kasie Hunt confronted Behn with her own 2020 social media posts calling for the elimination of Nashville’s police department. Rather than clarifying her position, Behn attempted to reframe her comments as the musings of a private citizen.
“So those past comments were at a time when I was a private citizen. As an activist and organizer, and now as a Tennessee lawmaker, I represent 40,000 individual opinions and political thought,” she said.
Hunt pressed her again, asking directly, “And so what do you think now? Would more money for cops be good or bad?”
Behn refused to answer, dodging with a generic talking point about “community wants.”
“I’ve worked with communities, at least my constituents, want to ensure that there is investment in their community for community safety, community protection, mental health services and that’s what I’m hearing from at least my constituents,” she said.
Behn, a Democrat state representative and former healthcare community organizer, is competing against Republican Matt Van Epps in Tuesday’s special election for Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District — a seat vacated by GOP Rep. Mark Green after he entered the private sector.
Her evasiveness didn’t stop with policing. When Hunt asked whether Behn disagreed with any positions held by then-Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, Behn again punted.
“Honestly, haven‘t thought about it. I‘ve got 24 hours to — I don‘t mean to be flippant, but I have 24 hours to win this race. And, all I‘ve been thinking about is talking to every last voter possible, at the doors and trying to make my case as to why I am the best candidate,” she said.
Hunt followed up: “But there’s no policy that you would identify that again, the party’s presidential nominee held, that you do not agree with?”
Behn offered only a vague commitment to lowering prices for Tennesseans — a politically safe dodge that avoided any critique of Harris.
After the interview, Hunt told her CNN panel she was “surprised” Behn failed to name even one disagreement with a candidate who lost Tennessee to President Donald Trump by nearly 30 points.
Behn’s troubles worsened as a resurfaced 2020 podcast revealed her disdain for Nashville — a city she seeks to represent.
“I hate the city, I hate the bachelorettes, I hate the pedal taverns, I hate country music, I hate all of the things that make Nashville apparently an ‘it’ city to the rest of the country. But I hate it,” she said.
Republican Matt Van Epps, backed by President Trump, warned voters on Tuesday about Behn’s far-left ideology.
“We have the right solutions. My opponent wants new and higher taxes to fund her socialist agenda. She has been endorsed by the democratic socialists of America supported Mamdani in New York City, and these are policies that will skyrocket our cost of living and will not be good for Tennessee,” Van Epps said.
He added, “President Trump carried this district by 22 points last year. Democrats are hoping to flip it and narrow the very slim Republican majority in Congress.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson campaigned in Tennessee to bolster Van Epps’ candidacy and warn conservatives against complacency.
“The problem is, when you have a deep-red district, a lot of the people take for granted that the Republican or the conservative is going to win,” Johnson said.
With Democrats openly targeting the district and Behn unable to give straight answers on crime, taxes, or national policy, Republicans are working to ensure the seat stays firmly in conservative hands.