Democrat Aftyn Behn advances to special election in battle for vacant congressional seat in deep-red district

Democrats on Tuesday picked their nominee in a special congressional election for a vacant seat in Tennessee.

Aftyn Behn, a former healthcare community organizer and current Democrat state representative, captured her party's nomination, according to The Associated Press. The Dickson County Democratic Party described Behn as "our very own AOC of TN," in a reference to U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., according to The Tennessee Star.

The primary field included three state representatives and a consultant in Tennessee's solidly red 7th Congressional District.

Behn will now be considered the underdog in the Dec. 2 general election in the race to succeed former Republican Rep. Mark Green, who resigned from office in June to take a private sector job.

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President Donald Trump carried the district, which is located in central and western Tennessee and stretches from Kentucky to Alabama, by roughly 20 points in last year's presidential election.

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Trump's immense political clout in Republican nomination races faced a test Tuesday in a crowded and competitive GOP primary. This after the president last week endorsed Matt Van Epp, a former commissioner of the Tennessee Department of General Services, and one of 11 names on the ballot in the GOP primary. Van Epp claimed victory on Tuesday.

Republicans currently control the House 219-213, with two vacancies: the seat in Tennessee and Texas 18th Congressional District, following the death earlier this year of Democratic Rep. Sylvester Turner.

Democrat Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva, who won a special congressional election in Arizona last month, has yet to be sworn in.