Democratic strategist Arshi Siddiqui said Wednesday on CNN that failed Democratic Tennessee congressional candidate Aftyn Behn may not have been the right fit to run for the state’s deep-red 7th District.
Republican Tennessee Rep-elect Matt Van Epps secured Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District seat Tuesday, defeating Behn in a special election after former Republican Tennessee Rep. Mark Green’s resignation. Appearing on “The Lead with Jake Tapper,” Siddiqui said Behn’s defeat had less to do with the district’s politics and more to do with Behn herself.
“Honestly, when you look at her as a candidate, she probably wasn’t the best fit for the district. I’m sure there are moderate Democrats in that district thinking, ‘Wait, maybe there is this proven concept to really, actually, maybe take a run at the seat,” Siddiqui told Tapper.
Siddiqui said Republicans “had to spend” heavily and “use a lot of energy and focus” to secure a district that President Donald Trump carried by 20 points in 2024.
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“I don’t want to overstate this, but the fact of the matter is Republicans had to spend millions of dollars,” Siddiqui said. “They had to use star power, whether it was Speaker Johnson, the president, and a lot of energy and focus, whereas Democrats were able to overperform in a significant way.”
Behn conceded the election Tuesday night but still used her call to Van Epps to lecture him on how he should serve in Congress. Behn told him to protect Obamacare subsidies in Washington, D.C. (RELATED: Democratic Loser Aftyn Behn Says She Used Concession Call To Lecture Republican Winner Van Epps About Obamacare)
Behn embraced far-left positions on abortion, transgender policies and policing, consistently promoting views that put her outside Tennessee’s political mainstream. She publicly disparaged Nashville, called Tennessee a “racist state” and pushed sweeping social policy ideas during past interviews and podcast appearances.
On the “Year Old GRITS” podcast in 2020, she said she hated the very things that make Nashville a destination for much of the nation.
“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,” Behn said.
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