NY Times: “A special election for a heavily Republican House seat in Tennessee that was on virtually no one’s political radar a few months ago has surfaced as the unlikely new front in the fight for control of Congress….
The Republican candidate, Mr. Van Epps, remains strongly favored. Even Democrats privately acknowledge that he is likely to win the race to represent a sprawling district that stretches from Kentucky to Alabama and voted overwhelmingly for Mr. Trump a year ago.
But a drumbeat of strong Democratic performances in lower-turnout special elections — as well as the party’s emphatic victories in Virginia and New Jersey while campaigning on affordability and opposing Mr. Trump — has Republicans nervous. They fear not just an upset loss but the possibility of an excruciatingly narrow victory, which would send an ominous and dispiriting signal heading into the midterm elections.”