State Representative Aftyn Behn (D-Nashville), the Democratic nominee for Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District, has come under fire for an opinion piece she authored in 2019 smearing Tennessee as a “racist state,” claiming racism in the Volunteer State is “wild and untamed.”
The op-ed, titled “Tennessee is a racist state, and so is its legislature,” was published in 2019 by The Tennessean.
In the piece, Behn wrote, “Let me be clear: Tennessee is a racist state. Racism is in the air we breathe, permeating the State Capitol, codified in the legislation being passed at the detriment of women, communities of color, and the working poor.”
The Democrat further claimed that racism in Tennessee has “caused black maternal mortality rates to soar” and “kept hundreds of thousands of formerly incarcerated individuals from voting.”
She said Tennessee lawmakers can “stand up to racism” by “expanding Medicaid, removing the bust of the founder of the KKK, and addressing poverty with policy.”
Democrats’ pick for Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District thinks Tennessee is “racist.”
Great pick guys! https://t.co/fUyITLlpSl pic.twitter.com/Ssw7XccFJ0
— GOP (@GOP) November 19, 2025
Behn’s 2019 op-ed appears to be in response to the actions of now-State Representative Justin Jones (D-Nashville), as the piece glorifies Jones as an “embodiment of a progressive agenda that is morally righteous and strives for equality, equity, and justice.”
The piece was published in March 2019, days after Jones, who at the time was a Vanderbilt Divinity School student and notorious left-wing activist, had a criminal case dismissed against him after he allegedly disrupted a Marsha Blackburn rally the previous year.
Other incidents involving Jones in 2019 include his arrest and ban from the Tennessee State Capitol after throwing a cup of coffee at then-Tennessee Speaker of the House Glen Casada, harassing state legislators at local restaurants, and being physically removed from a Michael Bloomberg event for disruptive behavior.
Jones went on to win the 2022 general election for Tennessee House of Representatives District 52.
Behn won the special general election for Tennessee House of Representatives District 51 one year later in 2023.
Now, as Behn is running for Congress, her 2019 op-ed has resurfaced, with the Republican National Committee questioning, “If Behn hates Tennessee so much, why is she trying to represent it?”
Behn faces Republican nominee Matt Van Epps, who is endorsed by President Donald Trump, and four Independent candidates – Teresa “Terri” Christie, Bobby Dodge, Robert James Sutherby, and Jon Thorp – in the December 2 special general election for the 7th Congressional District.
Voters in the 7th District – which includes Stewart, Montgomery, Robertson, Houston, Dickson, Cheatham, Humphreys, Hickman, Perry, Decatur, Wayne, and parts of Davidson, Benton, and Williamson counties – can bank their votes for the special general through Wednesday, November 26.
The final day for voters in the 7th District to request an absentee ballot for the special general election is Saturday.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “Aftyn Behn” by Aftyn Behn.
