Aftyn Behn

Aftyn Alyssa Behn (born November 24, 1989) is an American politician and a Democratic representative for District 51 in the Tennessee House of Representatives.

Early life and education
Behn was born on November 24, 1989, in Knoxville, Tennessee. She graduated from the Webb School of Knoxville in 2008. Behn earned Liberal Arts Honors and Psychology Honors degrees from University of Texas at Austin graduating in 2012.

Community organizing
In 2017, Behn began working as the healthcare community organizer for the Tennessee Justice Center. She's currently the Campaign Director for RuralOrganizing.org, overseeing the organization's electoral strategy.

Political activism
In 2018, Behn was the lead organizer for Enough is Enough TN, a campaign advocating for the expulsion of State Represnetative David Byrd after being accused of sexually assaulting underage women. She was removed from the Tennessee House of Representatives visitor's gallery in 2019 after interrupting a legislative session to protest the speakership of Glen Casada. Behn opposed the 2023 Tennessee House of Representatives expulsions and organized protests outside the State Capitol.

Tennessee House of Representatives
In 2023, after the death of five-term State Representative Bill Beck, Behn campaigned in a special election for the Tennessee House of Representatives 51st district. She was endorsed by Representative Gloria Johnson, Tennessee College Democrats, and Tennessee AFL-CIO. The Nashville Metro Council appointed former councilmember Anthony Davis to serve as interim representative until the special election in September. Behn defeated Davis in the August 3 primary with 53.46% of the vote. She won the general election with 75.61% of the vote.

On November 20, Behn announced her legislative proposal to repeal the Tennessee sales tax on groceries.