The following is a statement from Matt Hildreth, Executive Director of Rural Organizing.
Tennessee’s 7th CD should never have been competitive, but Rep. Aftyn Behn showed that Democratic candidates who know how to organize and fight to increase wages, decrease daily expenses, and improve the local quality of life will put three to four dozen safe Republican districts into play next year.
Republicans didn’t expect a race in this election, but they had to spend millions, relying on billionaires to save a seat Trump won by 22 points just 12 months ago.
Earlier this week,, Politico reported, “If our victory margin is single digits, the conference may come unhinged.”
Well, I have bad news for Republicans in Congress. Aftyn Behn is just the tip of the iceberg. There is an entirely new generation of rural and red state democrats who are battletested, and we’re just barely getting started.
Over the past few weeks, America saw what we’ve known for years. Aftyn Behn is a fearless leader who has dedicated her career to fighting for the underdogs, working families, rural communities, and those too often left behind.
For years, Aftyn served as the Campaign Director at Rural Organizing and has long been a trusted leader of a new generation of organizers, elected officials, and advocates in rural communities and red states who fight every day, against the odds, for communities left behind and forgotten.
Democrats in red states and rural areas like Aftyn are the true heros and leaders in the Democratic Party. They’re not waiting for Washington, DC operatives to issue a new report. They’re working day and night to cut margins in statewide elections and rebuild the party brand from the bottom up. And for years, as the Campaign Manager at RuralOrganizing, Aftyn Behn was leading the charge.
Every day, thousands of Democrats in red states and rural communities, like Aftyn, wake up and fight like hell in districts that they know they will never win. For these Democrats, it’s not about winning, it’s about fighting for what’s right, regardless of the outcome.
Aftyn knows, firsthand, what every Democrat in red states and rural areas knows—organizing works. When people from all walks of life join forces, work together, and demand a better life, big things can happen. Change doesn’t happen over night, but the results last night change everything for Republicans as we head in to the 2026 election.
The following is a statement from Shawn Sebastian, Executive Director of Rural Organizing.
Aftyn Behn has shocked the world. Millions of dollars have been thrown at her, and the most powerful men in the world have smeared her name to try to slow her down, but Aftyn has changed what is politically possible in Tennessee and across the country in this election. I’ve worked with Aftyn for years when she was the Campaign Director of Rural Organizing, and I’ve seen her dedication to working-class people in red states and rural places. I have seen Aftyn apply her grit and expertise to “Fix Roads, Feed Kids, and Fund Hospitals” in Tennessee and all across the country. I know Aftyn, and I know that commitment continues.
Aftyn’s DNA runs through everything we do at RuralOrganizing, particularly the belief that ordinary people anywhere, including in rural places and small towns, can organize to beat the odds and send the oligarchs and the white supremacists running. Now that the world knows the name Aftyn Behn, her impact will continue to spread, in her own work and through the many rural, red-state leaders who will follow in her footsteps.
The mission of RuralOrganizing.org is to rebuild a rural America that is empowered, thriving, and equitable. Follow us on Twitter @RuralOrganizing.
###
