Nashville businessman Stuart Cooper has suspended his campaign for Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District and is throwing his support behind U.S. Army veteran and former Lee administration official Matt Van Epps in the October 7 primary race.
“After serious thought and contemplation, I’m withdrawing my candidacy for United States Congress, and requesting that all who would have voted for me would instead vote for Matt Van Epps,” Cooper said in a statement.
Cooper’s suspension of his campaign came hours after President Donald Trump joined Governor Bill Lee and other notable Republicans – including retired U.S. Rep. Mark Green and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH-04) – in endorsing Van Epps’ congressional bid.
“My name will still be on the ballot, but I now ask all my supporters to vote for Matt Van Epps, supporting him in the primary election on October 7 and in the general election on December 2,” Cooper said.
Cooper went on to point out the early voting turnout data in the special primary, which shows a total of 36,028 absentee and in-person early votes – 18,203 from Republican voters and 17,825 from Democrats – were cast across the 14 counties that make up the 7th District through the entire early voting period.
Noting how “almost as many” Democrats turned out to vote as Republicans during the early voting period, Cooper emphasized the competitiveness of the race and urged other Republican candidates to follow suit and endorse Van Epps for Tuesday’s primary and December general election.
“Let’s keep this seat safe in Republican hands,” he added.
Cooper joins State Representative Lee Reeves (R-Franklin) in suspending his campaign following Trump’s backing of Van Epps.
Reeves, who had raised the most funds in the primary race per FEC filings, also asked his supporters to vote for Van Epps moving forward.
The special primary election for Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District will take place Tuesday, October 7.
Voters who failed to register in time for the special primary have until November 3 to register to vote in the special general election, scheduled for December 2.
– – –
Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Image “Stuart Cooper” by Stuart Cooper.
