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A resurfaced 2020 podcast clip has put Democratic congressional hopeful Aftyn Behn squarely in the spotlight after she admitted, in her own words, “I hate the city,” going on to slam bachelorettes, pedal taverns and even country music in describing Nashville. That raw soundbite is exactly the kind of out-of-touch elitism voters hate to hear from someone asking to represent their community, and it has conservatives smelling blood in the water.
Behn is the Democratic nominee in the December 2 special election for Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District, a race that stretches from Nashville’s tourist-packed downtown out into conservative heartland and could tilt control of the House if Democrats pull off an upset. National groups on both sides have poured money into the contest, and recent polls show the race unexpectedly tight — this is not the safe seat Democrats imagined when they put a self-styled progressive in the running.
Republicans have wasted no time weaponizing the clip, and rightly so: when a would-be representative admits contempt for the people and culture of a city she wants to serve, voters deserve to know. The RNC and pro-GOP outside groups have hammered Behn’s remarks while MAGA-aligned groups have also stepped in with heavy ad buys to keep the seat red, pointing out that cultural sneers cost political support in places that value tradition and faith.
Behn has tried to walk back the fallout, insisting she loves Nashville and blaming her tone on frustration with tourists and the changes brought by an “it” city lifestyle, while leaning on her record on health care as proof she’s not a coastal progressive ideologue. Voters should be skeptical: election season apologies are cheap, and explanations that frame disdain as mere annoyance do little to cover a pattern of rhetoric that paints ordinary Nashvillians as out-of-touch targets.
Conservatives should also note the larger pattern — Democrats repeatedly nominate candidates who sneer at Middle America while expecting votes anyway, and the “AOC of Tennessee” branding is no accident when leftist activists elevate someone who scorns local culture. Matt Van Epps has seized on that contrast, calling his opponent a “crazy left-wing radical” on national TV and reminding voters he respects the city’s workers, families and traditions while his opponent mocked them. In an era when affordability and safety are real worries for hardworking Americans, the last thing Tennessee needs is a representative who publicly declares she hates the place she wants to lead.
