Tennessee candidate refuses to disavow anti-police, anti-Nashville comments ahead of Tuesday election

A Democratic state representative seeking to win a U.S. House seat in Tennessee’s special election on Tuesday refused to disavow past anti-police and anti-Nashville rhetoric when pressed in a CNN interview on Sunday.

Aftyn Behn, who is running against Republican Matt Van Epps in the 7th Congressional District, was questioned by “Inside Politics” host Manu Raju about social media posts she made during the 2020 George Floyd protests. In those posts, she appeared to support burning down police stations and echoed calls to “defund the police.” Raju also asked whether she backed abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, and whether she regretted a resurfaced clip in which she said she “hates” Nashville.

“Some of your past tweets have gotten attention, including in 2020 when you posted to — and then deleted — a post that said, ‘Good morning, especially to the 54% of Americans that believe burning down a police station is justified,’” Raju said. “Another you appear to support a demand to ‘defund the police.’ Do you regret posting those comments?”

Behn responded that she made the posts as a “private citizen” during what she called a national push for “accountability and safer policing.”

Tennessee state Rep. Aftyn Behn speaks to members of the press at Cordell Hull State Office Building in Nashville, Tennessee, Tuesday, March 12, 2024. (Nicole Hester / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK)

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“What I’ve always believed is that communities need investment, to be safe,” she said, adding that she “wouldn’t post things like that now” as a lawmaker.

Raju then pressed Behn about comments from a 2020 podcast in which she sharply criticized Nashville, the largest city in the district she hopes to represent. The clip resurfaced during the campaign.

“I hate the city, I hate the bachelorettes, I hate the pedal taverns, I hate country music, I hate all of the things that make Nashville apparently an ‘it’ city to the rest of the country. But I hate it,” she said in the recording.

U.S. 7th Congressional District candidate Aftyn Behn speaks during a political forum Monday, Sept. 8, 2025, in Dickson, Tennessee. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

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Raju asked whether it was a mistake to make those comments. Behn declined to walk them back, again saying she was a “private citizen” at the time.

“Nashville is my home,” she said. “Do I roll my eyes at the bachelorette parties and the pedal taverns that are blocking my access to my house? Yeah, every Nashvillean does.” 

She said the race “has always been about something bigger, about families across middle Tennessee that are getting crushed by rising prices” while “Washington politicians and billionaires argue about this type of nonsense.”

The 7th Congressional District, which stretches across central and western Tennessee, is reliably Republican territory. President Donald Trump carried it by roughly 22 points in 2024.

Still, the district includes parts of Democratic-leaning Nashville, Tennessee’s capital and most populous city and a national hub for country music and tourism.

The race has been shaken by a law enforcement controversy after Van Epps challenged Behn over resurfaced anti-police social media posts, sparking statewide debate ahead of Election Day. (George Walker IV/ AP Photos)

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During the CNN interview, Behn also avoided taking a position on whether ICE should be abolished or whether immigration enforcement raids in Nashville should be halted.

Raju noted that Behn has been dubbed the “AOC of Tennessee,” referencing her support from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., who has called for eliminating ICE. Behn again sidestepped the question, saying her campaign is focused on lowering costs for working families.

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The Democratic nominee declined to directly address her controversial comments during MS NOW interviews last weekend.

Fox News’ Alec Schemmel and Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.