A special election is underway for Tennessee's 7th Congressional District. Political strategists Kristian Ramos and Leslie Sanchez join CBS News with more on how voters may lean.

Tennessee

Tennessee is set to hold a special election to fill a vacant House seat in its reliably Republican seventh congressional district. Despite the district's conservative history, the race between Republican Matt Van Epps, endorsed by former President Donald Trump, and Democrat Afton Bain is considered close, with both candidates focusing on affordability and economic issues.

Political analysts note that national trends, including Trump's declining approval ratings and voter concerns over economic policies, are influencing the contest. While some argue that a Democratic win would not necessarily reflect a broader shift, both parties are investing significant resources, and the outcome is seen as a test of current voter sentiment on economic matters.

Trump endorses Republican in Tennessee special election

Welcome back. Tomorrow, Tennessee will hold a special election to fill a House seat left empty in its seventh congressional district. Despite this being a reliably red district, there's no clear front runner in the race between the people you see here, Republican Matt Van Epps and Democrat Afton Bain. Christian Ramos and Leslie Sanchez join us now for our Monday Strat Chat. Christian is a former communications director for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and a Democratic strategist. Leslie, on the right of your screen is a CBS News political analyst and Republican strategist. I hope you both had a wonderful Thanksgiving. It's great to have you with us this Monday. Christian, let's start with you. Why does this election in Tennessee appear to be so close, do you think? Well, the political reality that the chickens are coming home to roost for the Republican Party. They have done some wildly unpopular things all over the country. They have raised prices on the American people. They are about to take away healthcare for millions of people, and voters are very, very angry. This election in Tennessee should not be close at all. Donald Trump carried this district by wide margins in 2024, and what we're seeing here is a Republican who is running with Trump. He's been endorsed by him. Trump has done a tally-tell haul for him, but Trump is wildly unpopular. His policies are wildly unpopular, and they are dragging down candidates all over the country. Now, Leslie, unsurprisingly, both of these candidates are centering their campaigns on the issue of affordability. Our viewers tell us that's the most important topic to them. Let's just play quick clips from their ads. The Democrats' radical agenda? Opposing tax cuts, pushing higher taxes and higher prices, and new taxes that would crush working families. Angry about high grocery prices? Worried about healthcare costs? Feeling burned by tariffs? Then December 2nd is your day to shake up Washington. So, Leslie, what do you think? If Afton Bain wins, the Democrats, should that be perceived as an indictment of Trump's economy? I think it's too close to call that race, and I think that would be a bridge too far, Errol, in terms of thinking about that. It's a special election, and these kind of situations, it really does come out to a turnout game. Who has the best activation on the ground? And you see the Democrats putting a tremendous amount of resources and spokespeople on the ground trying to help move that race over, but I think it's an overreach to think it's reflective of the entire political landscape. What is true, it's a very clear, distinct difference between the two of them. Economy, economics, pocketbook issues are gonna certainly ride this election cycle through the end of 2026, but the disparity between the two is very clear. You have a decorated war veteran on the Republican, Matt Van Eps, but certainly compared to such a contrast Democrat, I don't know that the Democrats think that she's in line with their policies because they're so progressive and so out of line with what I think a traditional voter and certainly a voter looking at this election. So let's look at the bigger national picture. A new Gallup poll shows disapproval for Mr. Trump is at 60% with his approval rating dropping to 36%. That's the lowest of his second term. Leslie, why do you think that is? I think any time you're looking at the president moving a lot of big initiatives forward, you see this fluctuation, but I mean, keeping in mind, going back to his first term, the president never really got high above 40%. This is a president that's never really kind of fluctuated in terms of popularity, but he does fluctuate in terms of effectiveness. And I think that's ultimately what he's decided on. He's moved a lot of things on immigration reform, closing the border, helping the economy, and that's gonna be the deciding factor overall. And Christian, President Trump's top economic advisor pushed the strength of the economy on Face the Nation yesterday. Let's just play some of that. Real incomes this year are up by about $1,200 so far. That's why we could have a great Black Friday and a great Thanksgiving sales weekend because people feel like they have more money in their pockets. On average, we're about half the inflation rate of Joe Biden. Okay, but let's fact check that. A new Politico poll shows 47% of self-described MAGA voters believe the current economy belongs to Joe Biden, but only about half of Trump voters who are not MAGA agree. What do you make of this, Christian? Well, first, the problem that President Trump and congressional Republicans have is his economic policies are hurting his voters the worst. Those voters are feeling the pain when they try to go buy groceries, when they go to try to buy Christmas gifts. Everything is very expensive. And I have seen this show before. We've seen another administration tell people everything is fine and the economy is good, and then lose big in the elections coming after that. So this is a losing message from this administration. And I think the real problem that Trump has is he was elected to lower costs. And can anyone here name a single policy that he's passed that actually would even attempt to lower costs? Leslie, final word on this? Not at all. The president's been focused on lowering interest rates, getting the economy moving, and that's been a big hard draft from what we had the previous four years. So I think the details are in people's pocketbooks and they're feeling more confident. Christian Ramos and Leslie Sanchez, great to see you both this Monday. We appreciate your insight and your time.

The New York Times has sued the U.S. Defence Department and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth in an effort to force the Pentagon to abandon its restrictive new press policy. The Times alleges that the policy, rejected by at least 30 news organizations, violates its rights to free speech and due process.

New York

New York Times sues Pentagon, Hegseth over press restrictions

President Trump weighed in on Russian President Vladimir Putin's meeting with his envoy, Steve Witkoff, and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner. CBS News' Ramy Inocencio has more.

Moscow

Ukraine Invasion

Trump insists Putin wants to end Ukraine war after Witkoff's trip

Democrats have released never-before-seen images in the Jeffrey Epstein case. They were taken at his private island estate. It comes as the Trump administration faces a deadline to release the full Epstein case files in two weeks.

Newly released images and videos show Epstein's private island estate

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Caracas

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Canberra

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Brussels

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Washington

Trump pardons Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar and his wife

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Los Angeles

Doctor who sold Matthew Perry ketamine sentenced to 30 months in prison

Google subsidiary YouTube has criticized an Australian law banning social media accounts for under-16s, arguing the legislation set to start Dec 10 makes young users of Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and YouTube less safe.

YouTube attacks Australia's underage social media ban

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California

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Pokrovsk

Russia claims control of Pokrovsk

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Nuwara Eliya

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Tegucigalpa

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Blagnac

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Damascus

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New Orleans

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Breakdown