The candidates include veteran state legislators, political newcomers and a man pardoned by President Trump for his role in the riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. In all, 19 people are competing in Tennessee’s first special congressional election in nearly four decades, a number that will shrink significantly after Tuesday’s primaries.
Republicans remain widely favored in the race for the Middle Tennessee seat, which Mark Green, a Republican elected in 2018, gave up in July to start a business. Mr. Green won re-election in 2024 with nearly 60 percent of the vote. An endorsement late last week from Mr. Trump has Matt Van Epps, a former commissioner of the Tennessee Department of General Services and an Army veteran, hoping to stand out in a field of nearly a dozen Republican candidates.
Mr. Green’s abrupt departure three months ago led to a condensed election cycle. There has been little public polling, and little time for candidates to introduce themselves in a district that stretches from Tennessee’s border with Kentucky to its border with Alabama.
Turnout for early voting was exceedingly low, with a little more than 36,000 people across 14 counties — just a fraction of the electorate — having cast ballots by the time it ended on Oct. 2.
State Representative Bo Mitchell, a Nashville resident who is among four Democrats running for the seat, described running in the tight cycle as “building the airplane while in the air.”
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The post In Tennessee Special Election, a Crowded Field for an Open Congressional Seat appeared first on New York Times.
