The Winner
If you live in Tennessee's 7th U.S. House District, you will continue to be represented in Congress by Rep. Matt Van Epps (R-TN), who has been declared the winner of the 2026 congressional race, according to the Associated Press. Van Epps took about 50.3% of the vote to about 48.1% for Democrat Darden Copeland, a margin of about 5,233 votes or about 2 points, according to unofficial Tennessee Secretary of State results as of Nov. 9.
The winner is based on the Associated Press call, and the vote figures are preliminary until the state certifies them. The seat stays in Republican hands.
The Race
Copeland, the Democratic nominee, reached the general election ballot by winning the Aug. 6 Democratic primary with about 16,641 votes. According to Cook Political Report, the seat was rated Solid Republican before the election, and Sabato's Crystal Ball also rated it Solid Republican. Independents Andrew J. Koontz and Lowell Reynolds also ran, taking about 2,603 votes (about 1.1%) and about 1,316 votes (about 0.5%).
Tennessee's 7th Congressional District has about 791,400 residents and is about 71.1% white, about 15.5% Black, about 8.2% Hispanic and about 2% Asian, according to Geographies data for the district. Median household income is about $75,800 and median age is about 35.6. About 34.4% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, the unemployment rate is about 4.2%, and about 12.5% of residents live below the poverty line.
What's Next
Van Epps is set to take office on Jan. 3, 2027, according to the U.S. Code. Van Epps has said he supports creating a secure, centralized biological-data resource to help researchers develop AI tools and advance U.S. scientific innovation, public health and national security, according to a June 16, 2026 press release from Congressman Matt Van Epps's office announcing the Web of Biological Data Act.
---
AllCiv makes it easy to stay politically informed and involved.
---
Spot something wrong? Report an issue with this article