Dem House hopeful vows to help working class despite record of hiking taxes

FIRST ON FOX: A Tennessee Democratic state representative running for Congress, who has been likened to Zohran Mamdani, claims she is running to make life better for the working class, but her voting record tells a different story. 

Tennessee state Rep. Aftyn Behn, D-District 51, who is running to replace outgoing Congressman from Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District, Mark Green, voted no last year on a bill that would have resulted in a $400 million tax cut for certain Tennessee small businesses, including potential refunds of up to $1.5 billion. Behn also rallied against Republican’s H.R. 1, the so-called “one, big beautiful bill,” which extended Donald Trump’s 2017 tax cuts that, without, could’ve meant a nearly $4,000 increase for taxpayers in her district. 

Meanwhile, earlier this year, Behn voted against a statewide budget bill that would have added tens-of-millions to the state’s rainy day fund, which would have effectively padded the state’s coffers so that in times of low-revenue taxes won’t need to be increased so much. That same budget bill would have also allocated millions for volunteer fire departments, senior centers, emergency medical services, teacher bonuses and other public safety funding.

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“A pissed-off social worker, Aftyn has seen firsthand how broken systems fail the very people they’re meant to protect,” Behn’s campaign website reads. “She’s now running for Congress after the so-called ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ passed — a giveaway to the wealthy that codified the largest transfer of wealth from working people to the rich in American history.”

However, according to estimates from the Tax Foundation, if Trump’s 2017 tax cuts had expired, residents in Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District, whom Behn wants to represent, would have seen an increase in their taxes of approximately $3,717 per taxpayer.

“To win, Democrats need to focus on what really matters: making life more affordable for working people,” Behn said after the bill’s passage. “Washington Republicans did the opposite by passing this #BigBullsh–Bill. Gutting healthcare and giving handouts to billionaires.”

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Even the New York Times has admitted that independent analyses showed Trump’s 2017 tax cuts “have consistently found that a large majority of Americans would owe less because of the law.”

Last year, Behn also voted against a bill that the Tennessee General Assembly Fiscal Review Committee estimated would provide over $1.5 billion in tax refunds for small business owners in the state. It also would have reduced a combined yearly tax burden for Tennessee business owners of about $400 million. 

Simultaneously, Behn voted against Tennessee’s 2025-2026 fiscal year budget that included a big increase to the state’s rainy day fund, which is used by state governments during periods of low revenue. The same budget bill also included community funding for services like volunteer fire departments, emergency medical services and rescue squads, senior centers, teacher bonuses, school security and more. 

During Behn’s time in the state legislature, she also worked to repeal the grocery tax in Tennessee, claiming it would put money back into the pockets of hard-working Tennesseans year-around. However, according to Republicans, the move would create a business enterprise tax, raising taxes on small businesses by about $800 million.

Fox News Digital reached out repeatedly to Behn’s campaign for comment but did not hear back. 

“Aftyn Behn’s policies would skyrocket the cost of living even more for hardworking Tennesseans,” Behn’s Republican opponent, Trump-backed Matt Van Epps, said. “Aftyn has repeatedly voted against tax cuts and proposed new taxes, taking more money from your pocket. I’ll always fight to lower taxes and bring down costs so that working families can get ahead.”  

In local media reports, Behn has been compared to New York City mayor-elect and self-proclaimed socialist Zohran Mamdani and 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.

“His message is one of helping working families across New York, my message is one of helping working families across Tennessee,” Behn said about Mamdani during the appearance on CNN. “We need to go back to pocketbook issues, especially in states like Tennessee where people are living unaffordable lives and suffering as a result of Republican policies.”