Music City Fumble: Dem Candidate Said She Hates City She Wants To Represent In Congress

A Democratic candidate running for a congressional seat that represents part of Nashville once said she hated the city and the country music culture long associated with it.

Aftyn Behn, a leftist candidate running for Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District, attacked Nashville back in a 2020 podcast appearance where she laid into some of Music City’s distinctive features. Behn, currently a Democrat state representative, is running against Republican Matt Van Epps for the congressional seat vacated by House Homeland Security Chair Mark Green earlier this year. 

“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 an unearthed podcast clip posted on Thursday. 

🚨 Aftyn Behn– the Democrat nominee for the upcoming TN07 special election– says that she despises Nashville, the city that she’s running to represent in Congress:

“I hate the city, I hate the bachelorettes, I hate the pedal taverns, I hate country music, I hate all of the… pic.twitter.com/L9lmo1YkkJ

— Greg Price (@greg_price11) November 19, 2025

The district, which stretches from the Tennessee-Kentucky border down to Alabama, includes part of Nashville. In 2024, Green won the district with nearly 60% of the vote. A special election is scheduled for December 2, the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, and Democrats are hoping for low Republican turnout. Both Republicans and Democrats are spending millions on the race. 

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In response to the viral clip, Behn said Republicans were only sharing the footage because they were panicked that she might win the race, and she denied hating Nashville. 

“NO, I DO NOT HATE THE CITY I REPRESENT,” Behn wrote on X. “The national GOP’s new attack? That I ‘hate Nashville.’ I’ve cried in the Country Music Hall of Fame no less than 10 times. They’re panicking because we’re close to winning. Eyes on the prize, y’all. Let’s go.”

In a video posted to social media, she said she didn’t hate the city, though she acknowledged that bachelorette parties and pedal taverns occasionally make her “mad.”

During early voting on Thursday, one local Democrat named Tim Ford told a local Fox affiliate that he wished he could take back his vote after he heard Behn’s remarks. 

“I want to go get my vote back and keep it,” he said.

“Really surprised someone would even talk like that about Nashville,” Ford added. “I think she should apologize as many times as she can.”

State Republican lawmakers criticized Behn for her remarks. 

“[Behn] wants to be elected by a city she hates,” Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson said. “The choice couldn’t be more clear — [Van Epps] stands with [Trump] and is committed to helping Nashville continue to thrive. Aftyn is not. Early voting ends Nov. 26th!”

Behn has also characterized the Volunteer State and its legislature as “racist,” writing in a 2020 op-ed that “our problem with racism in this state is wild and untamed” and that “racism is in the air we breathe.”

President Donald Trump, who endorsed Van Epps during a competitive Republican primary, has called Behn “a left-wing lunatic.”