Author and former Roanoke Times journalist Beth Macy confirmed Tuesday what she couldn’t keep from leaking out last week: She’s running for Congress, entering what’s now a three-way race for the Democratic nomination in the 6th District.

An energized crowd of several hundred cheered Macy on at Historic Fire Station One downtown as she tied incumbent U.S. Rep. Ben Cline to Donald Trump and Republican policies that she said are hurting the middle class and the most vulnerable while benefitting the wealthiest.

“We have to put our communities before billionaires,” she said, adding that "decent, grown-ass people should know when they have enough."

Macy said she’ll visit all the localities in the sprawling 6th and, just as she’d done as reporter and an author, will take notes and continue to hold the powerful to account and seek the truth.

But it was her husband, Tom Landon, who may have spoken the words to be written down later Tuesday, in talking about the solid red 6th and his wife’s chances.

“A few skeptics expressed doubts that we can win this race,” he said. “To them I say, you just watch. As I have learned over 36 years, betting against Beth Macy is never a good idea.”

Macy’s books, including “Factory Man,” “Dopesick” and the recently released “Paper Girl,” earned her national attention. Through those experiences, which earned her national attention, she’s told the stories of small towns and struggles from opioid addiction to her own life shaped by growing up in poverty in Ohio.

Macy will now turn her attention to life on the campaign.

Macy talked about numerous issues Tuesday night from the harmful impacts of health care-related and childcare cuts to the need to raise the minimum wage to the ridiculously high costs of a higher education. She also derided the influence of corporate money in politics, including donations to Cline. She vowed that she will not be a part of that system.

“These days, the truth can’t even get out of bed,” she said. “America needs to get back to what binds us together – not our politics – but our shared values, our love of country, our love for our neighbors - all our neighbors.”

The two other Democratic candidates in the race offer unique stories of their own. Pete Barlow of Augusta County launched his campaign in August and Ken Mitchell, who ran against Cline in 2024, held the formal announcement of his second bid last Friday.

Democrats will choose a nominee that they hope can unseat Cline, R-Botetourt County, and end the decades-long Republican domination of the 6th, which stretches from Roanoke northeast to Winchester. All three Democratic candidates say the cost of living and struggles of people in the district exacerbated by Trump administration policies overhang the race. So does the possible redrawing of congressional districts that could happen in Virginia before the 2026 general election.

Setting up the Democratic race:

Will Macy cruise to a win simply because of her name recognition?

Can Barlow use his generational ties in the district and an extensive life experience to build a successful coalition?

Or can Mitchell build on his previous campaign to earn the party nomination again?

Barlow, a Shenandoah Valley native of the district, said he was a manager for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) this year when he said the Elon Musk-driven DOGE crackdown decimated the Washington, D.C., department office where Barlow worked – a “tearing down” of that office that included doing away with years’ worth of important research and planning related to mitigating the impacts of natural disasters. So, Barlow said he decided to leave the agency and channel his frustration into his run for office.

“I know a disaster when I see it,” he said. “And right now that’s Congress.”

Mitchell, an Army and Air Force veteran and businessman who lives in Rockingham County, ran unsuccessfully against Cline in 2024. This year, he said he is in a better position because he is now building on established relationships. He said he spent a considerable amount of time in the urban centers of the district during his first run– but he said that’s given him name recognition and he plans to campaign more in the rural areas this year.

“It’s the economy. It’s the economy. It’s the economy,” Mitchell emphasized when asked what he’s hearing when talking to voters.

The redistricting looms

Cline was elected in 2018 and, in the closest race he’s faced, he still got 60 percent of the vote in the 6th against Democrat Jennifer Lewis that year. Looking to 2026, the main question as it’s been for years would be: Can a Democrat finally wage a competitive race, or potentially win?

However, the script could be flipped next year because the 6th may not even be the 6th anymore, either by number or by geography. If Democrats — who will hold the governor’s office and majorities in the General Assembly — temporarily redraw the state’s congressional districts to try to reduce Republican representation, it could be Cline who faces an uphill battle, should he run again. The legislature would need to approve a constitutional amendment to do so, and then a statewide referendum would need to pass. Whether that will happen in time to change districts for the November 2026 elections remains unclear. And if it does happen, it raises numerous questions, such as: Could other candidates emerge if new districts are approved?

A gerrymander of what’s now the 6th could reduce its rural, more Republican voting bloc and create a district that follows more Democratic-leaning college towns from Blacksburg to Lexington to Harrisonburg, for instance.

Del. Sam Rasoul, D-Roanoke, who was re-elected to his House seat this month, said he expects the Democratically-controlled state legislature will act quickly in January to pass a constitutional amendment to draw new temporary congressional district boundaries. A statewide referendum would then follow — and that could happen in April, in advance of the June primaries, Rasoul said. 

There could be court action to stop or delay the temporary process next year, he said. 

A redistricting will happen after the 2030 Census, no matter what happens in 2026.

Rasoul worked with Republicans in the General Assembly before the 2020 Census to create a bipartisan redistricting commission to work out political boundaries. He said what’s now happening nationally, spurred by a Republican move to create more GOP districts in Texas — supported by President Donald Trump — is a “race to the bottom.” But he said it is the way the game is being played and a reaction is necessary.

Rasoul, who is supporting “my friend Beth Macy,” in the 6th, said he does not have a preference on a potential new district congressional boundary that would include Roanoke.

He said in order for Macy to win next year he believes  she has to tell her story, and she has to excite new voters ready for a change.

“That’s what people are looking for,” he said.

Further north, in the middle of the 6th, Alleyn Harned, the chairman of the Harrisonburg Democratic Committee, wrote in email that the city’s party members “recognize the importance to this nation for the Commonwealth to do our level best to balance off the actions that the president forced through Texas.”

He wrote that the Harrisonburg committee is “thrilled that candidates are stepping forward to give the voters of the district an alternative –  the election will play out on individual choices by voters in the [expected] June primary. 

Cline’s office did not respond to multiple emails from The Roanoke Rambler seeking comment on the possible redistricting or his plans for reelection.

More on Barlow and Mitchell 

In an interview earlier this month, Barlow said during his time so far on the campaign trail it’s become clear just how many people have “really negative feelings” about politicians, and he said he’s making the case that it’s time for a “pragmatic sensibility” that he says he could bring to Congress.

Barlow, who said he grew up working on beef and poultry farms, also worked for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service where he said he worked to draft federal policies. He also spent time in the Peace Corps in the Philippines, where he taught high school biology.

The 6th’s rural character and farming backbone is important, he said, and he said he would be against a redistricting that would change that. Issues include the impact of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) patrols to round up immigrants – including one in Harrisonburg, Barlow said – that are escalating fears and hurting farms in the district that depend on that population for workers. He also said economic prosperity for farmers will be part of his campaign.

Mitchell, at the end of a 24-year military career, served in a communication role that crossed the George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton presidential administrations. He later started a construction company specializing in historic renovation and it was through that role that he oversaw a project at Monticello.

Mitchell then decided to move to a small farm in Rockingham County where he had a vision of growing organic crops. But the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, changed his plans and he said he felt led to serve in a new way.

In announcing his campaign Friday, Mitchell said:

“I am the only candidate with a proven ability to compete across the entire district and build a

broad, values-based coalition. The inroads I have made in rural communities and

across the district in 2024 and 2025 make it clear that I am the best candidate to take on Ben

Cline and deliver change in 2026.”

Redistricting or not, he said he believes the current 6th District is winnable by a Democrat because of the existing political climate.

In a recent interview with The Roanoke Rambler, he said Democrats must keep laser-focus on a message that will help “hard-working people” including veterans and farmers.

“It’s not Wall Street, it’s Main Street,” he said. “Democrats have the advantage with the issues.”

Back in Roanoke Tuesday, several people who spoke in support of Macy, including Del.-elect Lily Franklin, who flipped the 41st House District to blue earlier this month, said agreed with Mitchell.

A historically-red 6th and Cline and a two-party system await. As Macy’s event was starting, Cline was emailing out his “6th District Perspectives.”

One of the headlines: “Republicans lead the way to ending the Democrat shutdown.”