For the first time in 15 years, the 11th Congressional District, which covers most of western North Carolina, elected a Democrat to the U.S. House of Representatives.
Jamie AgerThe Fairview farmer and grandson of a former congressman from the same district won with 57% of the vote, compared to 41% for the state representative. Jennifer Balkcom.
The figures correspond to the Unofficial results from the North Carolina Board of Elections, with all seals reported.
Ager will assume office on January 3, 2027, when the new Congress begins. He will be the first Democrat to hold the seat since Heath Shuler, who vacated it in 2013. Since then, it has been represented by three Republicans: Mark Meadows, Madison Cawthorn, and Chuck Edwards.
“The voters have chosen, and I am very proud to represent western North Carolina in the United States Congress starting in January,” Ager wrote on Facebook after learning the results.
In the same message, Ager addressed the entire electorate of the district. “I will work hard to represent all of western North Carolina,” he wrote.
A Fairview farmer with a political family
Ager comes from a family with a long history in western state politics. His grandfather, Jamie Clarke, represented the district 11 in Congress between 1983 and 1985 and between 1987 and 1991, and was the second-to-last Democrat to hold the seat before Ager.
His father, John Ager, was a state representative for Buncombe, and his brother, Eric Ager, represents the 114th district of the state House of Representatives, where he was re-elected unopposed on Tuesday.
He, on the other hand, had never held an elected office. He owns the Hickory Nut Gap farm in Fairview.
On Tuesday night, before supporters who had gathered to follow the results, Ager called for a renewal of the party in the region.
“It’s time to fight for the values we cherish in Appalachia. It’s time for the resurgence of the Mountain Democrats, because the people of these mountains have been left behind for too long. It’s time to fight,” he said.
A Republican candidate three months before the election
Balkcom, the state representative from Henderson County, replaced Edwards on the ballot in August after Edwards dropped out of his reelection campaign, and had less than three months to campaign.
“Tonight, the voters of western North Carolina have spoken. And while this isn’t the outcome we wanted, I’m proud of the campaign we were able to put together in such a short time, in one of the worst political environments in modern history,” Balkcom wrote on Facebook Tuesday night, originally in English.
In the same message, the Republican announced she will seek the seat again. “Make no mistake: our campaign is not over. I look forward to running again and winning back this seat in 2028,” she wrote.
You may be interested: Democrat Lynne Russo wins a Republican district in Henderson, and voters approve the farm bonus.
Results by county
In total, Ager received 195,637 votes and Balkcom 141,427, a difference of more than 54,000 votes. Libertarian candidate Travis Groo received 5,345 votes.
Ager won in seven of the district's 16 counties, and Buncombe proved decisive. There, he garnered 96,478 votes, or 73.6%, compared to Balkcom's 33,137, or 25.3%. That single-county margin of over 63,000 votes outweighed his overall district-wide advantage.
In Henderson, in Balkcom County, the contest was closer, but Ager also won, with 29,947 votes, 52.6%, compared to 26,192 for the Republican, 46%.
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