Behn tele-rally draws 1,100 as Al Gore and Charlane Oliver deliver sharpest attacks

Former Vice President Al Gore and State Sen. Charlane Oliver delivered the most forceful messages during a Monday night virtual rally for Democrat Aftyn Behn, using the final hours before Election Day to energize supporters and sharpen their criticism of President Trump and Republican nominee Matt Van Epps. The event drew roughly 1,100 attendees and lasted just under an hour.

Gore, who represented Tennessee in Congress before serving two terms as vice president, offered the night’s most pointed remarks. He tied the district’s affordability pressures directly to national leadership and accused Trump of prioritizing personal gain over voters’ economic struggles.

“While the people of Tennessee are seeing their grocery prices rise and their healthcare costs skyrocket, Donald Trump is building a golden ballroom and lining his own pockets,” Gore said. “This is by far the most corrupt administration in history.”

He also appeared to indirectly reference Van Epps, who has campaigned as a staunch ally of President Trump.

“It’s abundantly clear that we already have way too many subservient cowards in Congress — and the last thing we need is to send another one up there,” he said.

Gore framed Tuesday’s special election as a high-stakes moment with national implications, saying voters could “send a shockwave that truly changes the direction of our country.” He urged participants to treat the race as a test of political momentum following Democratic gains in recent statewide contests.

While several national Democrats joined the rally, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rep. Pramila Jayapal, their remarks focused largely on encouraging volunteers and praising the campaign’s organizing efforts. Ocasio-Cortez offered supportive framing but did not introduce new lines of criticism, emphasizing voter participation and the campaign’s grassroots structure.

The rally’s final speaker, State Sen. Charlane Oliver — Behn’s political director and one of the most visible figures in the campaign — delivered the night’s most fiery close. Oliver argued the race reflects a decade of work by Democratic organizers in Tennessee and said a Behn win would signal a deeper political shift.

“We have an opportunity to flip a deep red seat from red to blue,” she said. “This speaks to our resilience, to our grit, to the past 10 years that we have been organizing in Tennessee.”

Oliver also targeted state and national Republicans directly.

“We believe that we deserve better than what them raggedy-ass Republicans have been dishing out for the last 15 years in this state,” she said, adding that Republican control had left rural hospitals, schools and working families behind.

She insisted Tennessee’s political landscape is shaped more by gerrymandering than ideology.

“Tennessee is not a red state. We may be a gerrymandered state, but we are not red,” Oliver said, urging attendees to push turnout in the final hours before polls open.

Behn used her own remarks to thank volunteers, frame the race as competitive because of grassroots turnout, and repeat her closing theme that “organizing beats dark money.” She also repeated her claim that President Trump is working to privatize the Tennessee Valley Authority — a statement that does not reflect any current move by the administration, Congress or the TVA board toward privatization, according to public records and recent federal budget proposals.

The tele-rally functioned partly as a pep talk for volunteers who have powered the campaign’s field program and partly as a rallying call from national allies looking to maximize turnout. Polls are open Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Photo: Portrait of former Vice President Al Gore from his official Facebook profile page.