The last thing any campaign needs heading into a tight special election is a candidate telling voters she cannot stand the very city she wants to represent. Yet that is exactly the mess Democratic State Rep. Aftyn Behn walked herself into after a resurfaced 2020 podcast clip dropped her right into the middle of a storm. In that audio, Behn went on a tirade that would make any Nashville resident wince. She said, “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.” Quite a sales pitch for someone asking voters to send her to Washington on their behalf.
Behn is running in Tennessee’s Seventh Congressional District, a seat left open after former Republican Rep. Mark Green retired following passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill back in July. The district leans R+10, which would normally give Republicans solid breathing room. But with Democrats feeling energized after surprising turnout in places like Virginia and New Jersey, the national party has been pouring money and manpower into the contest. That was before this podcast fiasco landed like a brick through a window.
What makes the comments even more puzzling is that the district includes parts of Nashville itself. Not the suburbs, not the outskirts, but pieces of the city that tourists flock to all year long. Nashville is the beating heart of Tennessee culture, the anchor of the state economy and the place millions associate with country music, nightlife and entertainment. So hearing a candidate say she hates all of it does not exactly inspire confidence.
Republican candidate Matt Van Epps and the national GOP wasted no time highlighting the quote. The RNC put it bluntly in a social media post, saying, “The Democrat running in a special election for Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District, Aftyn Behn, is running on the message: ‘I hate this place, elect me!’ Tennessee deserves better.” Hard to argue with the simplicity of that line. When a candidate hands you a gift, you unwrap it quickly.
Behn won her primary by edging out more traditional Democrats like former State Rep. Bo Mitchell and outsider Darden Copeland. She carved out a lane as a progressive, although that identity may not be the most comfortable fit in a district President Trump won by 22 points just last year. Meanwhile, Republican aligned groups have been dropping serious cash into the race. Jeff Yass put in over $1.3 million. The Ken Griffin backed Conservatives for American Excellence added more than $600,000. The School Freedom Fund tossed in $453,000. MAGA Inc. wrote checks well into seven figures.
Now voters get to decide whether they want a representative who talks like she cannot stand the place she is asking to serve. In a district with Nashville in its borders, that is a tough pitch to overcome.
Leave a Comment