Matt Van Epps, the Republican candidate, has been backed by more than $1 million from MAGA Inc. It's the first time the Trump-supporting super PAC has spent money on a campaign since last year's presidential race, a reflection of this contest's outsize importance. House Speaker Mike Johnson and GOP chair Joe Gruters rallied supporters in Tennessee on Monday. Trump addressed the crowd by phone and later held a tele-rally for Van Epps, his second of the general election.
Meanwhile, Democrats have also spent a lot of money for their candidate, state Rep. Aftyn Behn, who has raised the profile of the race because of the controversial remarks she has made in recent years. She has talked of hating Nashville and has favored a proposal to defund police. Behn has also made disparaging remarks about the influence of Christianity in state government.
The Christian Post quotes her making the following statements about her concerns with Christian influence during a podcast in June of 2024.
“I think, especially as someone who is more secular, I have a hard time when religion is at the core of everything we do in the legislature. For example, on the House floor, we say a prayer at the beginning of each session,” she said.
“Some committees open up with prayer, we also stand for the pledge. And there are also prayer groups in the legislature who meet routinely. There are Christian pastors that have a lot of say and proximity to power in the legislature and dictate a lot of what the power players do. And it is uncomfortable, and I think it makes a lot of my constituents who represent a diversity of religion deeply uncomfortable.”
For the most part, Behn has answered questions about those remarks by redirecting to cost of living issues.
