Tennessee is a racist state—at least according to Aftyn Behn, the Democratic nominee for the special election for Tennessee’s Seventh Congressional District.

“Let me be clear: Tennessee is a racist state. Racism is in the air we breathe, permeating the State Capitol, codified in the legislation being passed at the detriment of women, communities of color, and the working poor,” Behn wrote in the 2019 op-ed for the Tennessean. “Our problem with racism in this state is wild and untamed.”

“Look in the mirror, Tennessee,” she concluded. “If you don’t like what you see, shift.”

The rhetoric appears unlikely to land in the seventh district, which voted for President Donald Trump and Republican senator Marsha Blackburn by 22 points last year.

Behn—dubbed the “AOC of Tennessee”—is running to replace the district’s Republican representative, Mark Green, who resigned in July to take a job in the private sector. She is backed by the Knoxville chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America and will face Republican Matt Van Epps, a former commissioner in Gov. Bill Lee’s (R.) administration, in the Dec. 2 special election. The race has attracted high-profile surrogates: Kamala Harris appeared alongside Behn at a canvassing event on Tuesday, marking the first time she’s hit the campaign trail since losing to Trump.

Behn wrote the op-ed as a 29-year-old statewide organizer for Indivisible in Tennessee and Kentucky. Indivisible, a multimillion-dollar network backed by progressive billionaire George Soros, has bankrolled left-wing protests against Trump and Tesla founder Elon Musk. Earlier this year, the group provided local activists with a “reimbursement program” to cover expenses—including “chicken suits”—associated with protesting what it called the “Trump-Musk coup,” the Washington Free Beacon reported.

Behn did not respond to a request for comment on whether she still believes Tennessee is a “racist” state with racist air.

Behn also used her op-ed to defend Justin Jones, a prominent activist who was arrested in 2019 for hurling a cup at a Republican lawmaker. She praised Jones as “an embodiment of a progressive agenda that is morally righteous and strives for equality, equity, and justice.”

“Justin Jones has turned a mirror to the legislature and the gubernatorial administration, inviting them to look inward and prompt introspection towards their ideologically destructive agendas,” Behn wrote.

Jones and Behn were sworn into the Tennessee house in 2023. Soon after, Jones was temporarily expelled for joining a crowd that stormed the state capitol—an incident the state’s house speaker dubbed an “insurrection.” Months later, he again faced calls to resign after refusing to lead the house in the Pledge of Allegiance.

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