Last Thursday, Trump called Tennessee State Representative Aftyn Behn a “left-wing lunatic” while hosting a remote rally urging his supporters to flood the zone red in Tennessee’s upcoming Dec. 2nd special election. Rep. Behn, the Democratic candidate, responded, “I’ve spent my entire career focused on making healthcare more affordable, and I don’t think that’s ‘radical.’”
Now, Jen is joined by Rep. Behn to discuss why she chose to run for a seat in a very red district, her experience as a community organizer, and what gives her hope for victory.
Aftyn Behn has represented the 51st district of the Tennessee House of Representatives since 2023. She is running in the 2025 special election for Tennessee’s 7th congressional district. To support her campaign, click here.
The following transcript has been edited for clarity.
Jen Rubin
Hi, this is Jen Rubin, Editor-in-Chief of The Contrarian. I am delighted to welcome to our program Aftyn Behn. She is currently a representative in the Tennessee Legislature, and she is running for Congress in the Tennessee 7th. Welcome, Aftyn.
Rep. Aftyn Behn
Thanks for having me!
Jen Rubin
Why did you decide to run for a very red seat?
Rep. Aftyn Behn
After the passage of the big ugly bill in July, I have a close family friend who relies on our state Medicaid program. And, following her open-heart surgery, she was denied a life-saving medication from Medicaid, our state Medicaid program, TennCare. And the same week, she received a letter from the Trump administration that her SSDI benefits were being reviewed, and potentially cut. She brings home around $780 a month in fixed income. And we’re at a moment in time where we are facing an affordability crisis in Tennessee, and the Washington Republican agenda has not delivered on their promises to address the rising cost of living, and thus I decided to run for this seat.
Jen Rubin
What are you hearing from people in the district? Are they receptive to this message?
Rep. Aftyn Behn
Absolutely. Affordability is the top of mind of every voter across Across party lines. as millennials, I’m a millennial, we can’t afford to buy houses. I live in Nashville. We have the highest inflationary cost of groceries in the country. Our utility rates, rent, everything is increasing, and there is absolutely no solution on their side to address those costs. Additionally, I got my start as a community organizer, organizing to make healthcare more affordable in the state of Tennessee, and a lot of families rely on the Affordable Care Act in Tennessee, and if those subsidies are cut, many of them would not be able to afford health insurance.
Jen Rubin
Has your opponent said anything about healthcare affordability? What’s his idea of how to reduce costs?
Rep. Aftyn Behn
Well, in the primary, there was no mention of affordability whatsoever. It was very much, who could receive the Trump endorsement and how quickly. But his tone has changed, and his messaging has changed because polling on both sides shows that affordability is the issue that is very… that is quite prescient. And I have not heard any granular information or remedy as to how to address That’s the rising cost of living and the rising cost of healthcare.
Jen Rubin
Now, some cynics would say, oh, it’s such a deep red district, it’s plus Republican 20, there’s no hope here. Obviously, you think that there is an opening. Is it because of the salience of this issue? Is it because people are so angry with the outcome of the shutdown? What gives you hope?
Rep. Aftyn Behn
To provide some context, Nashville had a consolidated Democratic district before redistricting last cycle, and the Republican supermajority in Tennessee took Nashville and they cut it into three districts. And it was greedy and an overreach. And in fact, the former congressman who represented the 7th District, Representative Mark Green, at the time, lambasted the decision by the supermajority, saying, you are going to regret this decision. And this district is unique because it includes some of the highest voting turnout precincts in Davidson County, which is North Nashville. It’s a lot of Black voters. and all the way up to Clarksville, which includes Montgomery County, where Fort Campbell is, and that is our purple electoral county in Tennessee.
And so, there are pockets of a deeply concentrated… a deep concentration of Democrats, thus making this district competitive. Additionally, as we’ve seen on the heels of the candidates winning two weeks ago in New Jersey and Virginia, that candidates that are messaging about affordability and how to address the rising cost of living in the state or across the country, are the ones winning. And I have been doing that from day one. That was my track record as a community organizer. As a legislator, I’ve been trying to eliminate Tennessee’s regressive grocery tax.
And so I’ve made a living on trying to make things more affordable for working Tennessee families, and that is the message that’s resonating. I think also, finally. Many voters are concerned about the chaos of Washington. Most voters don’t want to think about the federal government, right? But I heard from veterans who work at the Social Security office in Clarksville that they have gone two and a half pay periods. with the government being shut down, and they were having to go to food pantries to get food. I mean, the lack… the inability of Washington to get it to get it together in order to address the concerns of actual voters in the district, is why I decided to run.
Jen Rubin
One of the biggest indications that it may not be so safe after all is that Republicans are beginning to spend money in your district. Are they going up with TV ads? Are you seeing surrogates come in? What are you witnessing now on the ground?
Rep. Aftyn Behn
They did not want to get pulled into this fight, but I knew that we were running a fantastic race, we’ve got some of the best organizers in the state, and we know how to turn out our voters. I had the highest total voter turnout of any Democratic state rep in the 2024 cycle, so I know how to mobilize. I know how to mobilize, and that scares them. They also haven’t… we don’t have competitive races in Tennessee, and so the Republican Party has gotten a bit lethargic, and they’ve relied on mass communication.
They even sent intimidating mailers threatening Republicans in the primary. If you do not vote Republican, you will be, you will be publicly censured. And so these are tactics that rely on intimidation and fear, and they’re just really tired, you know, and I’ve always been someone who’s been underestimated, and so we are absolutely outworking them. But they are relying on commercials. Additionally, President Trump had a… held a Teletown hall for my opponent, in which he called me a left-wing lunatic, and my response to that was, I don’t think it’s radical to try to make healthcare more affordable for working Tennesseans.
Jen Rubin
Absolutely. So, for people who may live outside of Tennessee who may not know you, tell us a little bit about your background. You said you were a community organizer, now you’ve been in the state legislature. What are the issues that have motivated you up to now?
Rep. Aftyn Behn
Yeah, so I grew up in East Tennessee, and I moved back, when Trump was elected the first time, and my first job was as a healthcare community organizer during the 2017 Affordable Care Act and Medicaid cut, or those fights. And those cuts have now come to fruition. They’ve been actualized. But at the time, I was running around the state, raising awareness about the impact of Medicaid cuts to rural hospitals.
I then worked for Indivisible, so I was the Indivisible statewide organizer in Tennessee and Kentucky, so I had groups all across the 7th District, and those groups are still here today and still knocking doors for me, which feels kind of full circle. And then in 2023, and I don’t know if you covered the Tennessee 3 saga, but I helped to organize a lot of the protests and marches outside the Capitol during the Tennessee 3 explosions, and it was a moment where I thought, you know what, I deserve to be up here just as much as anyone else, and so I decided to run for my State House seat, and I’ve been in the state legislature for about two and a half years. And obviously, I think everyone is frustrated, upset, and I decided to channel my rage into running for Congress.
Jen Rubin
Nothing like doing rather than agonizing. Last question for you. A lot of Democrats don’t want to run in seats like this. They figure, oh, it’s too hard, people don’t like us there. What’s the biggest misconception that Democrats have about running in areas that have been represented traditionally by Republicans?
Rep. Aftyn Behn:
It’s not easy, I will tell you that. It’s not easy, but it’s important. It’s a fight worth having, and there are a few reasons. One, often there are not competitive races in a state like Tennessee, and so to have the megaphone of a congressional race to be outspoken and loud about the issue of affordability on a much bigger scale, has enabled me to reach voters that I wouldn’t have historically reached.
And then two, it brings excitement and hope to a place like Tennessee. We have been electorally jaded for a long time because of the gerrymandering and the anti-democratic measures and oppression that we face. And so, you give people hope, and there’s not… one day goes by where someone doesn’t come up to me, and their eyes just start welling with tears, and they can’t get words out, but I know what they’re thinking is, you know, thank you so much for putting yourself forward, for serving your country, for serving your state, and I’m so honored. And so the… hopefully, we are inspiring not only more people to run, we’re inspiring young people to get take back their states, to get involved with politics, and hopefully the country, to not ride off places like the South.
Jen Rubin
Absolutely. Well, you don’t win any races, you don’t run in, and you have to start showing up and asking people for their vote, or they’re not going to vote for you. It’s been a wonderful time getting to know you, getting to talk to you. If people want to get involved in your campaign, and there is time still left, what should they do?
Rep. Aftyn Behn
Yeah, so the, the, the excitement and energy and, all of the activism that happened with the New Jersey and Virginia races, a few dollars would help us out, so as you are able, please chip in. We’ve got, I think, 15 days, 2 weeks, starting tomorrow. This is the last flippable red-to-blue congressional special election in the entire country. So as you are able, please donate. You can go to aftonForCongress.com. We have phone banking opportunities, postcards have been… been sent all across the country into the 7th District, and we’re just so excited to have this opportunity, and I hope we can flip it on December 2nd. We’ll send shockwaves across the country.
Jen Rubin
Well, thank you so much. Best of luck, and thank you for making time for us. We know how busy you are, so we’ll look forward to having you in the future, hopefully after you win.
Rep. Aftyn Behn
Thank you so much.
Jen Rubin
You’re very welcome. Bye-bye.
