WASHINGTON ‒ Former Vice President Al Gore made a rare return to the campaign trail as he delivered an impassioned plea to Tennesseans to vote for Democrat Aftyn Behn in the state’s 7th congressional special election.
Gore, a former U.S. senator from Tennessee, said he’s “never seen the political tides shift as far and fast as we’re seeing them move in this election” as Behn looks to pull off a major in her race against Republican Matt Van Epps in a reliably red district.
“I think it’s obvious why,” Gore said in a virtual rally for Behn on the eve of the Dec. 2 election. “Because while the people of Tennessee are seeing their grocery prices rise and their health care costs skyrocket, Donald Trump is building a golden ballroom and lining his own pockets. It’s incredible. This is by far the most corrupt administration in history.”
More: Tennessee congressional race becomes unlikely test of blue wave
Democrat Aftyn Behn (L) and Republican Matt Van Epps (R).
President Donald Trump won Tennessee’s 7th congressional district, which includes 14 Middle Tennessee counties and parts of Nashville, by 22 percentage points in the 2024 election. But Democratic momentum as the minority party, combined with sinking poll numbers for Trump, has turned the Behn-Van Epps race to replace retired Rep. Mark Green, R-Tennessee, into a close contest. Seeking to avert a disaster, Trump has jumped into the race to urge his supporters to vote for Van Epps.
Gore, who famously lost his home state of Tennessee in his 2000 presidential bid, said Republicans in Congress are “enabling” Trump’s “reckless and dangerous” behavior.
“We already have way too many subservient cowards in Congress, and the last thing we need is to send another one up there,” Gore said. “Your votes in this election can send not just a message, but a shock wave that truly changes the direction of our country.”
More: Trump says ‘whole world is watching’ Tennessee race as GOP works to avert disaster
New York Democratic U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a national star among progressives, also stumped for Behn during the virtual rally. Behn welcomed the help even as Republicans have labeled her “the AOC of Tennessee” in a push to paint Behn as too far left.
“The very fact that we are here today and this race is so tremendously tight is a testament to how the American people are feeling at this moment,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “I genuinely believe that we are at a time when people are increasingly recognizing that our fights are not left and right, but they are top and bottom. They are about all of us as working Americans.”
More: Al Gore talks ‘Climate Reality,’ regrets and hopes for the grandkids.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez speaks after Mahmoud Khalil arrived at Newark Liberty International Airport on June 21, 2025, in Newark, New Jersey.
Since losing the 2000 election to former president George W. Bush, Gore has stepped back from electoral politics, declining to attend the last two in-person Democratic National Conventions in 2024 and 2016. He’s instead become a leading environmental advocate globally in the fight against climate change.
“You know, Tennessee has done this before when history’s spotlights were on us,” Gore said, pointing to Tennessee securing the final vote to ratify the 19th Amendment to give women the right to vote and the role the Volunteer State played in the Civil Rights movement. “Tennessee has proven again and again that we can answer the call of democracy.
“By electing Aftyn you will be able to say that with your vote, you helped turn our country back on the right path,” Gore said.
Former US Vice President and founder and chairman of the Climate Reality Project, Al Gore, speaks during a conference in the framework of a training event to form environmental leaders in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on August 15, 2025. (Photo by Pablo PORCIUNCULA / AFP) (Photo by PABLO PORCIUNCULA/AFP via Getty Images)
Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Al Gore urges Democrats to send a ‘shock wave’ in Tennessee race
