In a significant development, MAGA Inc., a leading external political organization that backed President Donald Trump's 2024 campaign, is now stepping into the fiercely competitive special election for a vacant House seat in a staunchly Republican congressional district in Tennessee.
This seat was previously held by the GOP, and the election is seen as a crucial battle in the political landscape.
According to Fox News Digital, MAGA Inc. is initiating an advertising campaign to bolster the prospects of Matt Van Epps, the Republican nominee endorsed by Trump. Van Epps is pitted against Democratic nominee Aftyn Behn in the race to fill the seat vacated by former GOP Rep. Mark Green, who resigned in June to pursue a career in the private sector.
MAGA Inc. has confirmed that the ads will be broadcast on television and digital platforms, supported by a seven-figure investment that also includes funding for voter mobilization efforts. This marks the group's first major campaign since the presidential election last year.
The Republican party is investing heavily in this special election, aiming to prevent any potential upset and safeguard their slim 219-214 majority in the House. The district in question, located in central and western Tennessee and extending from Kentucky to Alabama, was won by Trump by a margin of 22 points in the last presidential election.
However, Democrats, buoyed by their sweeping victories in the 2025 elections, are hopeful about their prospects in the upcoming Dec. 2 special election. Democratic National Committee (DNC) chair Ken Martin, who recently campaigned with Behn, asserted that she has "an excellent shot to win."
The MAGA Inc. ads take aim at Behn, a state representative and former healthcare community organizer, who has been labeled the "AOC of Tennessee" by some. The ads criticize her for voting against what Republicans hail as the state's largest-ever tax cut. "Politician Aftyn Behn voted against the largest tax cut in state history," the ad's narrator stated.
The narrator also alleged that "this year, Aftyn Behn backed more tax hikes that would cost Tennessee families thousands more," referencing Behn's opposition to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. This Act, which extended the Trump tax cuts from his first term, was passed by the Republican-dominated Congress along partisan lines. "We can't afford radical liberal Aftyn Behn," the narrator contended.
The ad also features a clip of Behn stating, "I'm a very radical person," which is played twice for emphasis.
Trump's endorsement of Van Epps played a significant role in his victory in the Republican congressional nomination last month, where he emerged victorious from a field of 11 candidates. Trump recently hosted a tele-rally for Van Epps, where he labeled Behn a "Marxist" and linked her to Zohran Mamdani, the socialist mayor-elect of New York City, whom Republicans are attempting to portray as the new face of the Democratic Party.
The Van Epps campaign is urging the former president to campaign in person in the district before the special election. Meanwhile, former Vice President Kamala Harris, who was defeated by Trump in the last presidential election, recently 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," Alex Pfeiffer, a spokesman for MAGA Inc., told Fox News Digital.
MAGA Inc., which was not a significant player in the 2022 midterms, had reserved most of its resources for Trump's 2024 campaign. The group spent a whopping $456-million to back Trump's campaign, as per data from Open Secrets, a nonprofit organization that monitors campaign finance.
However, with Trump's focus on helping Republicans maintain their House and Senate majorities in the upcoming midterm elections, MAGA Inc. is expected to play a more prominent role than it did in 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 with the matter told Fox News Digital.
MAGA Inc. has the financial resources to fulfill this commitment, having raised nearly $177 million through June, as per the latest fundraising reports filed with the Federal Election Commission. Other conservative groups, including the Club for Growth Action and Conservatives for American Excellence PAC, are also investing heavily in the Tennessee special election.
The DNC, however, believes that "Republicans are panicking and they should be." DNC Deputy Communications Director Abhi Rahman argued that "Van Epps is Trumps hand-picked candidate in an overwhelmingly Republican district, and hes still in the fight of his life."
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