Democratic congressional hopeful Aftyn Behn was caught on a 2020 podcast declaring, in plain language, “I hate the city,” as she unloaded on the very Nashville neighborhoods she now wants to represent in Washington. The resurfaced clip — where she vows she “hates the bachelorettes, the pedal taverns, country music” and “all of the things that make Nashville an ‘it’ city” — is the kind of honest moment voters deserve to see before they decide who should speak for them. This is not political hair-splitting; it’s a pattern of contempt for everyday Tennesseans that Democrats hope the public will simply forget.
Behn’s remarks have exploded into controversy just days before the Dec. 2 special election for Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District, a race that could decide control where margins are razor-thin and common sense matters. The district runs from Tennessee’s rural heartland into parts of Nashville, and it remains a conservative constituency — one Trump won handily in 2024 — yet Democrat operatives want voters to ignore a candidate who mocks the culture and economy she seeks to lead. Voters are rightly asking: why run to represent a place you openly deride?
Republicans and independent voters have pounced on the clip, and national GOP groups have poured money into the race to make sure Behn’s elitist remarks don’t go unanswered. Her opponent, Matt Van Epps, took the issue to a national audience on Fox’s Saturday in America, calling out the hypocrisy and laying bare the choice between a patriot who loves Tennessee and a progressive who sneers at it. Outside groups aligned with conservatives have also launched heavy ad buys to remind voters of who really stands for Tennessee values.
This latest episode is only the tip of the iceberg; Behn’s record includes a 2019 op‑ed that blasted Tennessee as a “racist state,” remarks that reveal a broader pattern of urban contempt and performative outrage. Conservatives aren’t surprised by the left’s tendency to denigrate the communities they want to control, but ordinary voters are fed up with politicians who preach empathy in D.C. while sneering at the very people who elect them back home. If Democrats think cultural dismissal is a winning strategy in the Volunteer State, they’re about to be disabused of that notion.
On the campaign trail Van Epps has also hammered affordability and the real issues Tennesseans care about — cost of living, public safety, and common-sense governance — while Behn’s team scrambles to walk back her words. Americans don’t want virtue-signaling elites who lecture from a distance; they want representatives who respect their towns, their jobs, and their traditions. Voters should weigh whether a candidate who says “I hate” the community she seeks to represent can be trusted to defend it in Congress.
This race is a simple test of values: do we reward the smug disdain of coastal-style progressives, or do we stand with those who actually love and build their communities? Hardworking Tennesseans deserve leaders who protect family budgets, support local businesses, and respect hometown culture — not activists who mock the people they hope to govern. Come December 2, patriotic voters should remember Behn’s words and choose the candidate who stands with Tennessee, not above it.
