Jonathan Thorp (Tennessee)
Jonathan Thorp (independent) is running in a special election to the U.S. House to represent Tennessee's 7th Congressional District. He is on the ballot in the special general election on December 2, 2025.[source]
Thorp is also running for election to the U.S. House to represent Tennessee's 7th Congressional District. He declared candidacy for the general election scheduled on November 3, 2026.[source]
Thorp completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Jonathan Thorp served in the U.S. Army from 1999 to 2009. He earned a high school diploma from Custer High School, a bachelor's degree from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in 2009, and a graduate degree from the University of Detroit Mercy in 2013. His career experience includes working as a pilot.[1]
2025 battleground election
Ballotpedia identified the December 2, 2025, special election as a battleground election. The summary below is from our coverage of this election, found here.
Aftyn Behn (D), Matt Van Epps (R), and four independent candidates are running in the special election for Tennessee's 7th Congressional District on December 2, 2025. The special election will fill the vacancy created when the former incumbent, Rep. Mark Green (R), resigned on July 20, 2025.[2]
The Tennessee Lookout's Sam Stockard wrote, "The special election for Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District seat is shaping up as a classic conservative-liberal battle that pits urban versus rural voters in a heavily red region."[3] According to The Tennessean's Austin Hornbostel and Vivian Jones, "Tennessee’s 7th District has been represented by Republicans since 1983. But new district boundaries drawn by the Republican-controlled state legislature in 2021 moved the district into northern Nashville and added a significant Democrat population. Since redistricting, Republicans have not won more than 60% of the vote."[4]
Behn represents the 51st District in the Tennessee House of Representatives. She was elected in a 2023 special election and re-elected in 2024. Behn earned her bachelor's degree in psychology and her master's degree in social work from the University of Texas at Austin. She worked as a social worker and community organizer.[5]
Behn's campaign website said, "She’s now running for Congress after the so-called 'Big, Beautiful Bill' passed — a giveaway to the wealthy that codified the largest transfer of wealth from working people to the rich in American history."[6] Behn is running on her record as an activist and state representative.[7] In a campaign ad, Behn says, "As a state representative in Tennessee, I fought to eliminate Tennessee's grocery tax. In Congress, I will fight to make sure your rural hospitals and nursing homes stay open, and I will make sure that no one loses their healthcare because they can't afford it."[8]
Van Epps was a Tennessee Army National Guard lieutenant colonel and a special operations helicopter pilot. He served as commissioner of the Tennessee Department of General Services and as deputy chief operating officer in the governor's office.[9] He earned his bachelor's degree in political science and mechanical engineering from West Point and his master's degree in public administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.[10]
Van Epps' campaign website said he would bring "conservative leadership grounded in service, experience, and unwavering commitment to Tennessee values and President Trump's America First agenda."[11] President Donald Trump (R) endorsed Van Epps days before the primary election.[12] Van Epps said, "Together, we will bring down the cost of living, keep our families and communities safe, lower the cost of prescription drugs and healthcare, deport criminal illegals, and get our veterans the care and support they've earned."[13]
Independents Teresa Christie, Bobby Dodge, Robert James Sutherby, and Jonathan Thorp are also running.
Heading into the election, Republicans have a 219-213 majority in the U.S. House with three vacancies. This will be the sixth special congressional election in 2025, after two April elections in Florida's 1st District and 6th District, two September elections in Virginia's 11th District and Arizona's 7th District, and a November election in Texas' 18th District.
Elections
2026
See also: Tennessee's 7th Congressional District election, 2026
General election
The primary will occur on August 6, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. Additional general election candidates will be added here following the primary.
General election for U.S. House Tennessee District 7
Jonathan Thorp is running in the general election for U.S. House Tennessee District 7 on November 3, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Jonathan Thorp (Independent) | |
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 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. House Tennessee District 7
Aftyn Behn and David Jones are running in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Tennessee District 7 on August 6, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Aftyn Behn | |
| David Jones | ||
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| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House Tennessee District 7
Jason Knight, Stewart Parks, Jay Reedy, and Matt Van Epps are running in the Republican primary for U.S. House Tennessee District 7 on August 6, 2026.
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| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Endorsements
Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.
2025
See also: Tennessee's 7th Congressional District special election, 2025
Tennessee's 7th Congressional District special election, 2025 (October 7 Republican primary)
Tennessee's 7th Congressional District special election, 2025 (October 7 Democratic primary)
General election
Special general election for U.S. House Tennessee District 7
The following candidates are running in the special general election for U.S. House Tennessee District 7 on December 2, 2025.
Candidate | ||
| Aftyn Behn (D) | |
 | Matt Van Epps (R) | |
 | Teresa Christie (Independent) | |
| Bobby Dodge (Independent) | ||
 | Robert James Sutherby (Independent) | |
| Jonathan Thorp (Independent) | |
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| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Steven Hooper (Independent)
- Scerick Richard Longcope (Independent)
- David Richard Holbert (Independent)
- Caleb Stack (Independent)
Democratic primary election
Special Democratic primary for U.S. House Tennessee District 7
Aftyn Behn defeated Darden Copeland, Bo Mitchell, and Vincent Dixie in the special Democratic primary for U.S. House Tennessee District 7 on October 7, 2025.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Aftyn Behn | 27.9 | 8,648 |
 | Darden Copeland | 24.9 | 7,716 | |
 | Bo Mitchell | 24.2 | 7,492 | |
 | Vincent Dixie | 23.1 | 7,146 | |
| Total votes: 31,002 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Joy Davis (D)
Republican primary election
Special Republican primary for U.S. House Tennessee District 7
The following candidates ran in the special Republican primary for U.S. House Tennessee District 7 on October 7, 2025.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Matt Van Epps | 51.6 | 19,001 |
 | Jody Barrett | 25.3 | 9,335 | |
 | Gino Bulso | 10.9 | 4,004 | |
 | Lee Reeves | 5.2 | 1,929 | |
 | Mason Foley | 2.8 | 1,022 | |
 | Stewart Parks | 1.6 | 595 | |
 | Jason Knight | 1.0 | 381 | |
 | Stuart Cooper (Unofficially withdrew) | 0.6 | 239 | |
 | Tres Wittum | 0.4 | 133 | |
 | Joe Leurs | 0.3 | 122 | |
 | Adolph Agbéko Dagan | 0.3 | 93 | |
| Total votes: 36,854 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Robert James Sutherby (R)
- Brandon Ogles (R)
- Eddie Lee Murphy (R)
- John Wilt (R)
- John Wesley Smith IV (R)
- Michael Vogel (R)
- Noah Cline (R)
- Robby Moore (R)
Polls
- See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls
We provide results for polls that are included in polling aggregation from RealClearPolitics, when available. We will regularly check for polling aggregation for this race and add polls here once available. To notify us of polls available for this race, please email us.
Election campaign finance
| Name | Party | Receipts* | Disbursements** | Cash on hand | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aftyn Behn | Democratic Party | $1,230,629 | $708,892 | $521,737 | As of November 12, 2025 |
| Matt Van Epps | Republican Party | $992,716 | $761,549 | $231,167 | As of November 12, 2025 |
| Teresa Christie | Independent | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
| Bobby Dodge | Independent | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
| Robert James Sutherby | Independent | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
| Jonathan Thorp | Independent | $12,319 | $13,530 | $-1,211 | As of November 12, 2025 |
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Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2025. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee." |
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Satellite spending
- See also: Satellite spending
Satellite spending describes political spending not controlled by candidates or their campaigns; that is, any political expenditures made by groups or individuals that are not directly affiliated with a candidate. This includes spending by political party committees, super PACs, trade associations, and 501(c)(4) nonprofit groups.[14][15][16]
If available, this section includes links to online resources tracking satellite spending in this election. To notify us of a resource to add, email us.
| By candidate | By election |
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Endorsements
Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.
Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
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2025
Jonathan Thorp completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Thorp's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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Like many people, I grew frustrated watching politics become more about party lines and special interests than about people. Too often, the voices of ordinary Tennesseans are drowned out in the noise of Washington. I believe it doesn’t have to be that way.
I’m running to represent those who feel left out of the conversation Not because they don’t care, but because no one has been speaking for them. This campaign is about putting people first, not politics. Stepping outside the partisan game doesn’t make us powerless, it makes us the difference.
My wife and I are raising our two boys in Robertson County, along with a few too many animals. The values guiding my life—integrity, humility, service, and looking out for one another—are the same values I’ll carry to Congress.
I’m not running to join the system; I’m running to fix it. If you’ve been waiting for someone to say what you’ve been thinking—that we can do better, and we deserve better—this campaign is for you.- Putting People Over Politics Washington is broken because politicians serve parties and special interests before the people they represent. I’m running to change that. I’ll be an independent voice who answers to Tennesseans, not party bosses. My guiding principle is simple: do what’s right, not what’s politically convenient.
- Restoring Fiscal Sanity Runaway spending and reckless policies are driving up the cost of everything from groceries to gas. Families shouldn’t pay the price for Washington’s dysfunction. I’ll fight to rein in spending, cut red tape, and make it easier for businesses and workers to thrive in Tennessee.
- A Lifetime of Service, Not Politics I’ve spent my entire career in the service of others: defending freedom as a combat pilot, protecting communities with law enforcement, and saving lives as an air ambulance pilot. I know what it means to show up when it matters most. I’m stepping forward now to serve Tennesseans in Congress with that same commitment.
Integrity matters just as much. In the Army and later in the air ambulance world, I learned that integrity means doing the right thing when no one is watching. For a representative, that means remembering whose money is being spent. Tax dollars are not government’s money; they’re the people’s money. I believe an elected official should treat every dollar as if it were coming from their own pocket, because in a very real sense, it is.
But principles don’t stop with honesty and stewardship. Humility is just as vital. Public office is not about building a career, it’s about service. It’s about understanding that the authority you hold was lent to you by the people, and it can be taken back at any time. An elected official should resist the arrogance of power and stay grounded in the lives of the people they represent.
Finally, courage is essential. Doing the right thing for all constituents—today and in the future—often means standing apart from party pressure, lobbyists, and even colleagues. Courage is what separates someone who talks about change from someone willing to make it.
If I’m fortunate enough to serve in Congress, I want my legacy to reflect the same principle: that I showed up when it mattered. That I put people first, even when it meant standing apart from the status quo. That I fought to restore fiscal sanity so our children wouldn’t inherit a weaker nation weighed down by debt. That I worked to rebuild trust in a government too many Americans have given up on.
On a personal level, I want my boys to look back and know their dad didn’t just talk about problems, he stepped forward to try to fix them. I want them to see that integrity and honesty matter more than popularity, and that public service means sacrifice, not self-promotion.
Our debt is more than a number on a spreadsheet. It’s a national security risk, because a nation buried in debt cannot act freely. It’s an economic time bomb, because interest payments alone are consuming more of the federal budget than defense or healthcare. And it’s a moral failing, because it means we are living at our children’s expense.
The next decade will test whether we have the courage to confront this reality. Do we have leaders willing to say “no” to endless borrowing? Are we willing to make government live within its means, just as families and businesses must do? If not, we risk not only our economy, but the very promise of upward mobility that defines America.
Addressing this challenge is not about left versus right. It’s about sustainability and stewardship. It’s about remembering that government does not create wealth, it only spends what others have created. And if it spends too much, it destroys the foundation of prosperity for everyone.
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Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
See also
2025 Elections
External links
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Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on August 27, 2025
- ↑ The Tennessean, "US Rep. Mark Green will step down July 20. Who could replace him?" July 8, 2025
- ↑ Tennessee Lookout, "Behn works to counter Trump endorsement of Van Epps in Tennessee’s Congressional District 7," October 22, 2025
- ↑ [ https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/politics/elections/2025/10/08/tennessee-7th-congressional-district-aftyn-behn-matt-van-epps/86586838007/ The Tennessean, "Behn, Van Epps to face off in special election for Tennessee's 7th Congressional District," October 8, 2025]
- ↑ Tennessee General Assembly, "Representative Aftyn Behn," accessed October 29, 2025
- ↑ Aftyn Behn 2025 campaign website, "Home," accessed October 29, 2025
- ↑ The Behn Factor, "Why We Need to Send an Organizer to Congress," August 7, 2025
- ↑ [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QS6WGAVw43s YouTube, " I'm Aftyn Behn and I'm running for Congress." July 9, 2025]
- ↑ Matt Van Epps 2025 campaign website, "Meet Matt," accessed October 29, 2025
- ↑ Linkedin, "Matt Van Epps, MPA," accessed October 29, 2025
- ↑ Matt Van Epps 2025 campaign website, "Issues," accessed October 29, 2025
- ↑ Clarksville Now, "UPDATE: Congress candidate Matt Van Epps endorsed by Trump: ‘HE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!’," October 3, 2025
- ↑ WZTV Nashville, "Democratic candidate Aftyn Behn and GOP candidate Matt Van Epps lay out visions for Tenn.," October 8, 2025
- ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Outside Spending," accessed December 12, 2021
- ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Total Outside Spending by Election Cycle, All Groups," accessed December 12, 2021
- ↑ National Review.com, "Why the Media Hate Super PACs," December 12, 2021
