{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nMatthew Robert Van Epps is the Republican U.S. Representative for Tennessee's 7th Congressional District, having won a December 2, 2025, special election with 53.9% of the vote. The seat had been vacated when former Rep. Mark Green resigned in July 2025. Van Epps was sworn in on December 4, 2025.\n\nVan Epps is a fiscal conservative supporting extending tax cuts, completing the border wall, deregulation, school choice, and Second Amendment protections.\n\n## Background and education\nVan Epps was born March 29, 1983, in Ohio, and graduated from Mentor High School. He graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 2005 and later earned a Master of Public Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.\n\n## Career\nVan Epps served ten years on active duty as an Army aviation officer in the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne), deploying to Iraq and Afghanistan. He received the Air Medal with \"V\" device, the Bronze Star Medal, and the Meritorious Service Medal. He holds the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Tennessee Army National Guard. After leaving active duty, he served as Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of General Services under Governor Bill Lee and as deputy chief operating officer in the governor's office. In the 119th Congress, he serves on the Committee on Homeland Security and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.\n\n## Family\nVan Epps is married to Meg Wrather. They have one daughter and reside in Nashville, Tennessee.\n\n## Sources\n- [1] [Matt Van Epps \u2013 Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matt_Van_Epps)\n- [2] [About \u2013 Congressman Matt Van Epps](https://vanepps.house.gov/about)\n- [3] [Republican Matt Van Epps wins special House election in Tennessee \u2013 NPR](https://www.npr.org)\n","campaigns":[{"contest":"us_house_7","county":"Benton","county_count":22,"electiondate":"Thu, 06 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"primary","state":"TN","title":"US House District 7"}],"cf_filings":[],"firstname":"Matt","fullname":"Matt Van Epps","lastname":"Van Epps","office_history":[{"campaigns":[{"contest":"us_house_7","contest_title":"US House District 7","county":"Benton","county_count":22,"electiondate":"2026-08-06","office_county":null,"office_key":"us_house_7","office_title":null,"party":"R","pgr":"primary","state":"TN"}],"county":null,"cycles":[{"general":null,"party":"R","primary":{"contest":"us_house_7","contest_title":"US House District 7","county":"Benton","county_count":22,"electiondate":"2026-08-06","office_county":null,"office_key":"us_house_7","office_title":null,"party":"R","pgr":"primary","state":"TN"},"term":null,"year":2026}],"office_key":"us_house_7","office_title":"US House District 7","state":"TN","terms":[]}],"terms":[],"token":"GYsdU97GNx"}