Democrats spent millions of dollars trying to flip a deep-red Tennessee congressional seat.
Their candidate was a disaster waiting to happen.
And Aftyn Behn got exposed on live TV when she couldn't answer this simple question about cops.
Tennessee radical gets caught in her own trap
Tennessee state representative Aftyn Behn thought she could run from her past.
She deleted the social media posts calling to "dissolve" Nashville's police department.
She scrubbed tweets celebrating Americans who believed "burning down a police station is justified."
But Monday's appearance on CNN's The Arena with Kasie Hunt proved Behn can't hide from what she really believes.
Hunt asked Behn a straightforward question that any serious congressional candidate should be able to answer.
Would putting more money toward police officers in Tennessee's 7th Congressional District help fight crime?
Behn's response was a masterclass in political cowardice.
"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 thoughts," Behn stammered.¹
Hunt wasn't having it.
She pressed again: "What do you think now? Would more money for cops be good or bad?"
Behn still refused to take a position.
"I think it depends on what the community wants," Behn said, desperately trying to dodge.
That's not how public safety works.
The Democrat Party's defund-the-police movement destroyed American cities during the 2020 riots.
Behn was right there cheering it on.
In June 2020, she posted on social media asking for a proposal to "dissolve" Nashville's Metro Police Department.²
On the same day, she tweeted "Good morning, especially to the 54% of Americans that believe burning down a police station is justified."³
These weren't offhand comments made in the heat of the moment.
Behn was a dedicated activist who built her entire political identity around attacking law enforcement.
The stakes couldn't be higher
The special election for Tennessee's 7th Congressional District takes place Today, December 2.
Republican Matt Van Epps holds a narrow lead in recent polls, 48% to 46%, with 5% of voters still undecided.⁴
President Donald Trump called into campaign events Monday urging supporters to vote for Van Epps.
"The whole world is watching Tennessee right now, and they're watching your district," Trump told the crowd.⁵
House Speaker Mike Johnson traveled to Tennessee to campaign alongside Van Epps.
The math explains why Republicans are going all-in on this race.
They currently hold a 219-213 majority in the House.
Losing even one seat makes governing nearly impossible.
Democrats poured more than $1 million into Behn's campaign hoping to spring an upset in a district Trump won by 22 points.⁶
Former Vice President Kamala Harris showed up to campaign for Behn last month.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez headlined a virtual rally for Behn Monday night.⁷
That tells you everything you need to know about what kind of congresswoman Behn would be.
Behn can't escape her radical record
The 36-year-old Democrat tried to dismiss her anti-police activism as ancient history.
She claimed she's "matured" since calling for Nashville's police department to be dissolved.
But Behn's CNN interview proved otherwise.
She still can't bring herself to say whether hiring more cops would make communities safer.
That's because her radical base won't let her.
The Knoxville chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America backed Behn's congressional campaign.⁸
These are the same people who want to abolish ICE, defund police departments, and release criminals back onto the streets.
Behn also has a nasty habit of trashing the very state she wants to represent in Congress.
In a 2020 podcast, she declared "I hate this city" when talking about Nashville.⁹
She called Tennessee a "godforsaken" place in a 2023 video.¹⁰
Behn branded the entire state as "racist" and argued that college sororities embody "white supremacy."¹¹
She even voiced support for using taxpayer money to pay for gender-transition surgeries for minors.¹²
This is who Democrats want representing Tennessee's 7th Congressional District.
Van Epps couldn't have asked for a better opponent.
The Republican is a West Point graduate who served as an Army helicopter pilot before becoming Tennessee's Commissioner of General Services.¹³
He's running on supporting Trump's America First agenda, securing the border, and backing law enforcement.
Meanwhile, Behn can't even say if hiring more cops would help fight crime.
A recent poll found that Nashville residents believe hiring more police officers is one of the best solutions for improving public safety.¹⁴
Behn knows that.
She just can't admit it without enraging the radical activists who control the Democrat Party.
That's why she dodged Hunt's question three different ways.
Behn's refusal to give a straight answer exposed everything voters need to know about her candidacy.
She's a radical leftist trying to disguise herself as a moderate.
Her CNN interview proved the disguise doesn't fit.
¹ Mariane Angela, "Aftyn Behn Refuses To Tell CNN Whether More Money For Cops Is Good Or Bad," Daily Caller, December 1, 2025.
² Tennessee Democrat Under Fire for 2020 Tweets on Police Dissolution, IJR, November 25, 2025.
³ Ibid.
⁴ Emerson College Polling, "Tennessee 7th District 2025 Special Election Poll," November 26, 2025.
⁵ ABC News, "How a deep red Tennessee House district turned into a political battleground," December 2, 2025.
⁶ CNN Politics, "Tennessee special election between Aftyn Behn and Matt Van Epps stirs upset talk," December 2, 2025.
⁷ NPR, "Why Democrats and Republicans are watching Tennessee's special election for Congress," December 2, 2025.
⁸ Wikipedia, "Aftyn Behn," accessed December 2, 2025.
⁹ The Gateway Pundit, "Trump Blasts Tennessee Candidate Aftyn Behn," November 30, 2025.
¹⁰ Ibid.
¹¹ Washington Free Beacon, "Dem Nominee in Tennessee Special Election," November 25, 2025.
¹² Daily Caller, December 1, 2025.
¹³ Ballotpedia News, "Aftyn Behn (D), Matt Van Epps (R), and four independent candidates are running," November 6, 2025.
¹⁴ Washington Free Beacon, November 25, 2025.
