Pre-election disclosures show more than $2.5 million in the 7th Congressional District race to replace U.S. Rep. Mark Green, the GOP incumbent who resigned in July, six months into his term. About $900,000 comes from candidates — specifically Democrat Darden Copeland and Republicans Lee Reeves and Gino Bulso — padding their own reports with personal loans and payments as pressure mounts ahead of both parties’ contested Oct. 7 primaries.
Green’s surprise departure from Congress opened up one of Tennessee’s nine congressional seats, immediately drawing interest from aspiring politicians from both parties. State Republicans redrew the district in 2022 to include Clarksville, several rural counties stretching from Kentucky to Alabama and a slice of Davidson County, which previously had its own congressional district typically seen as a safe Democratic seat. The national GOP holds a slim majority in Congress, and this seat is one of a few off-cycle special elections in the country that could indicate political trends ahead of the 2026 midterms. Green’s departure set up a compressed timeline with an Oct. 7 primary and Dec. 2 general election.
The race to replace U.S. Rep. Mark Green is crowded — and early voting in the primary begins Sept. 17
Personal wealth has allowed Copeland, Reeves and Bulso to make big media buys — including TV ads and text blasts — ahead of contested primaries. Bulso, a Brentwood attorney serving his second term in the state House, is running a Trump-aligned congressional campaign obsessed with inflammatory cultural issues. His Sept. 25 pre-primary report showed just $56,032 in fundraising, a lagging total that Bulso supplemented with nearly $500,000 in self-funding. Reeves has dumped $300,000 into his campaign while raising $269,014, giving him the race’s biggest bank account. Fellow Republican Matt Van Epps, a combat veteran hand-picked by Green for the seat, holds the highest true fundraising total with $358,726 ($15,500 from political action committees), aided by a slight campaign head start and deep-pocketed conservative donors like Lee Beaman and the Haslam family.
Brand consultant Darden Copeland, the only self-funding Democrat, put in $125,000 and raised another $335,000, leading his party in fundraising and total bankroll. Also the only leading Democrat without a state House seat, Copeland has used his relatively low name recognition and public relations chops to fashion a conspicuously inoffensive political identity. His social media ads and texts feature smiling pictures of his wife and two children as well as Jan. 6 Capitol riot footage, and rail against “Trump tyranny” and “special interests.” Copeland's outreach has also effectively nationalized the race, hauling in small-dollar donations from Hawaii to Hilton Head.Â
His campaign materials do not mention his significant personal wealth, earned by running corporate campaigns, some directly for billionaire interests like Bristol Motor Speedway’s NASCAR push at The Fairgrounds Nashville and the new Titans stadium. Copeland has not disclosed his current clients nor shared his plan to avoid perceived conflicts of interest if elected. This has provoked a little Substack mud-slinging from a leading primary opponent, Democratic state Rep. Aftyn Behn.
Slinging Dicey’s pizza under a pavilion at Sevier Park, Copeland smoothly comforted a crowd of about 20 curious Nashvillians on a warm Monday evening.
Darden Copeland at a Sept. 29 campaign event
“ Now two Republicans have self-financed: $500,000 from one, $300,000 from another,” Copeland said in his opening stump speech, which included lengthy asides about his rural upbringing, made possible by his mom working a factory night shift. “But if you just look at donations, I've out-raised every single person across the board. Not a dime from PACs or billionaires or special interests.  It's less about Democrats, Republicans, left or right, or conservative and liberal. It's sort of up and down. We've given everything to the billionaire class.”
More than a dozen Republicans and Democrats have kicked off campaigns to replace former U.S. Rep. Mark Green
He played the hits for 45 minutes, weaving in anecdotes about his children and opinion about national Democrats’ leadership vacuum — “ I thought Obama was really fantastic," he told the group. "I mean, there was so much hope around Obama.”
While they lack Copeland’s cash, fellow Democrats Behn ($149,027), state Rep. Vincent Dixie ($138,229) and state Rep. Bo Mitchell ($202,840) reported ample resources that will allow last-minute buys ahead of Election Day next week. Mitchell and Behn have been running text campaigns tempting potential donors with the promise of “flipping” a precious House seat out from under Trump.
Votes, meanwhile, indicate a low-turnout primary that often favors the party’s better-known personalities. In Davidson County, the district’s critical turnout machine for Democrats, just 5.3 percent of eligible voters have so far cast ballots early.
