The courage of conviction is one thing. Political theater designed to grab headlines is quite another. And as Tennessee voters prepare to cast their ballots in Tuesday’s special election for the state’s 7th congressional district, they are getting a fresh look at what kind of representative Democratic candidate Aftyn Behn might become.
A video from 2019 has resurfaced showing Behn, then working as a political organizer, being forcibly removed from Governor Bill Lee’s office after she attempted a sit-in protest. The footage shows Behn skating past law enforcement officers to gain entry to the governor’s office before officers pursued her and physically removed her from the premises.
This was not some spontaneous act of civil disobedience born from moral urgency. According to reports, Behn was participating in an organized sit-in aimed at pressuring Governor Lee to demand the resignation of a state representative who had been accused, though notably not charged, of sexual misconduct.
The video captures Behn wailing as officers escort her out after she had reportedly been warned she could face arrest. Follow-up footage from a local outlet showed Behn on the second day of the attempted sit-in, lying on the floor outside the governor’s office with a blanket and pillow, weeping for the cameras.
Before winning a special election in 2023 to represent Tennessee’s District 51 in the state legislature, Behn cut her political teeth working with several far-left activist organizations. These included Indivisible, which co-organized the “No Kings” protests, along with Enough Is Enough Tennessee and the Tennessee Justice Center.
The conservative Capital Research Center has documented that Enough Is Enough Tennessee was established specifically to target Tennessee lawmakers accused of sexual misconduct. While holding powerful figures accountable for genuine wrongdoing is essential to good governance, the question voters must ask themselves is whether this style of activism translates into effective legislative representation.
Now Behn faces Republican challenger Matt Van Epps in a race that has put her past statements and actions under the microscope. The Republican National Committee has not been shy about highlighting what they view as disqualifying positions, with spokesperson Delanie Bomar arguing that Behn is “wildly unfit for office.”
Those criticisms extend beyond the 2019 incident. Behn has faced scrutiny for past comments made on a podcast in which she stated she “hated” Nashville, the very city she now seeks to represent in Congress. Additional controversy has swirled around her previous calls to “dissolve” police departments, positions that even many moderate Democrats find troubling in an era of rising crime concerns.
The timing of this video’s resurgence is worth noting. With just days until voters head to the polls, Tennessee Republicans are making the case that Behn’s activist background demonstrates a temperament unsuited for the deliberative work of legislating. Democrats, meanwhile, argue that her advocacy experience shows a commitment to fighting for constituents.
What cannot be disputed is that voters deserve to know the full measure of who they are electing. The question before Tennessee’s 7th district is not whether passionate advocacy has a place in our democracy. It surely does. The question is whether the particular brand of activism Behn practiced translates into the kind of serious, effective representation a congressional district requires.
Come Tuesday, the voters will have their say.
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