Scoop: Trump-aligned MAGA Inc. jumps into high stakes ballot box congressional showdown
In a significant political move, MAGA Inc., the primary outside group supporting Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign, is diving into the heated special election for a vacant House seat in Tennessee. This election comes after former GOP Rep. Mark Green’s resignation in June, and it pits Trump-endorsed Republican nominee Matt Van Epps against Democratic nominee Aftyn Behn. The ads launched by MAGA Inc. represent a substantial investment, with a seven-figure budget aimed at bolstering Van Epps’s campaign. This marks the group’s first advertising effort since the 2022 presidential election, signaling their commitment to maintaining Republican dominance in the House, especially as they navigate a precarious 219-214 majority.
The congressional district in question is a solidly red area, having backed Trump by a substantial 22-point margin in the last presidential election. However, recent Democratic successes in the 2025 elections have injected optimism into Behn’s campaign. She is characterized as a rising progressive star, drawing comparisons to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. MAGA Inc.’s ads target Behn’s legislative record, particularly her opposition to what Republicans claim is the largest tax cut in Tennessee’s history, positioning her as a “radical liberal” who could impose financial burdens on families. This strategy is underscored by Trump’s active involvement, including a tele-rally for Van Epps, where he labeled Behn as a “Marxist,” further intensifying the campaign’s rhetoric.
The stakes are high for both parties in this special election, scheduled for December 2. While MAGA Inc. and other conservative groups are pouring resources into supporting Van Epps, the Democratic National Committee is rallying behind Behn, suggesting that her campaign has a strong chance of success. The DNC’s chair, Ken Martin, and former Vice President Kamala Harris have both actively supported Behn, framing the election as a critical test of Republican strength in a district that should, on paper, favor them. With MAGA Inc.’s significant fundraising capabilities and a clear strategy to counter Democratic enthusiasm, this election will be closely watched as a bellwether for the political landscape heading into the 2024 elections.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OSqSnDE7ZA
FIRST ON FOX:
The top outside political group that supported President
Donald Trump
‘s 2024 campaign is jumping into a hotly contested special election for a Republican-controlled vacant House seat in a solidly red congressional district in Tennessee.
MAGA Inc. is launching ads to support Trump-endorsed
Republican nominee
Matt Van Epps in his showdown against Democratic nominee Aftyn Behn in the race to succeed former GOP Rep. Mark Green, who resigned from office in June to take a private sector job. The spots were shared first with Fox News Digital on Wednesday.
The ads, which MAGA Inc. says will run on broadcast TV and digital and are backed by a seven-figure buy that also includes investments in get-out-the-vote efforts, are the first by the group since last year’s presidential election.
Republican groups are pouring plenty of resources into the special election to avoid the possibility of a major upset and protect the GOP’s current razor-thin 219-214 majority in the House.
TRUMP-BACKED CANDIDATE WINS CROWDED GOP PRIMARY IN BATTLE FOR VACANT HOUSE SEAT
Trump carried the district — which is located in
central and western Tennessee,
stretches from Kentucky to Alabama, and includes parts of Nashville — by 22 points in last year’s presidential election.
But Democrats, energized after their sweeping victories earlier this month in the 2025 elections, are optimistic about their chances in the Dec. 2 special election. Democratic National Committee (DNC) chair Ken Martin, who campaigned with Behn last weekend, argued that she has “an excellent shot to win.”
DEMOCRAT AFTYN BEHN ADVANCES TO SPECIAL ELECTION IN BATTLE FOR VACANT CONGRESSIONAL SEAT IN DEEP-RED DISTRICT
The
spots by MAGA Inc
. target Behn, a state representative, former healthcare community organizer, and rising progressive star who some have dubbed the “AOC of Tennessee,” over her vote last year in the legislature against what Republicans tout as the state’s largest tax cut ever.
“Politician Aftyn Behn voted against the largest tax cut in state history,” the narrator
in the spot
said.
And the narrator claimed that “this year, Aftyn Behn backed more tax hikes that would cost Tennessee families thousands more,” which points to Behn’s opposition to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which passed the Republican-controlled Congress along partisan lines and extended the Trump tax cuts from the president’s first term.
“We can’t afford radical liberal Aftyn Behn,” the narrator argued.
The ad also includes a clip, used twice, of Behn saying, “I’m a very radical person.”
TRUMP LOOMS LARGE OVER SPECIAL ELECTION PRIMARY IN DEEP-RED CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT
Trump’s endorsement of Van Epps helped boost the former commissioner of the Tennessee Department of General Services to primary victory last month in an 11-candidate race for the Republican congressional nomination.
Last week, Trump hosted a tele-rally for Van Epps in which he claimed Behn was a “Marxist” and linked her to
Zohran Mamdani
, the socialist mayor-elect of New York City, whom Republicans are aiming to make the new face of the Democratic Party.
The Van Epps campaign is asking the president to campaign in person in the district ahead of the special election.
On Tuesday, former Vice President
Kamala Harris
, whom Trump defeated in last year’s presidential election, campaigned with Behn.
“Kamala Harris’ visit to Tennessee says it all — Aftyn Behn is a typical radical liberal. Behn supports higher taxes and open borders. Tennessee is going to reject her agenda and elect Matt Van Epps to Congress,” MAGA Inc. spokesman Alex Pfeiffer told Fox News Digital.
MAGA Inc. was not a major player in the 2022 midterms, as the group saved much of its resources for Trump’s 2024 campaign to win back the White House. MAGA Inc. ended up spending $456-million to support Trump’s campaign, according to Open Secrets, a nonprofit organization that tracks campaign finance data.
But with Trump aiming to help Republicans protect their House and Senate majorities in next year’s midterm elections — “We must keep the Majority at all costs,” Trump wrote in a social media post on Monday — MAGA Inc. is expected to play a much larger role than they did during the 2022 cycle.
“This spend in an off-year special election shows how committed MAGA Inc will be to ensuring the House and Senate remain in Republican control,” a source familiar told Fox News Digital.
And MAGA Inc. has the war chest to deliver on that commitment. The group raised nearly $177 million through June, according to the most recent
fundraising reports
filed with the Federal Election Commission.
Other conservative groups that are pouring big bucks into the special election in Tennessee include the Club for Growth Action and Conservatives for American Excellence PAC, which have both launched six-figure ad buys.
The DNC charged that “Republicans are panicking — and they should be.”
And DNC Deputy Communications Director Abhi Rahman argued that “Van Epps is Trump’s hand-picked candidate in an overwhelmingly Republican district, and he’s still in the fight of his life.”
