Early voting is underway for a statewide referendum over proposed congressional district maps in Virginia. WMRA's Randi B. Hagi spoke with eight candidates for the House of Representatives about the redistricting effort. This report is the first in a four-part series.
The proposed new district maps, if approved in the referendum and then the state Supreme Court, would likely elect 10 Democrats and one Republican to the U.S. House of Representatives. Virginia currently has six Democratic and five Republican representatives. In part one of this series, WMRA spoke with two Democratic candidates from the Roanoke area – Beth Macy and Adam Murphy.
Journalist Beth Macy, a former Roanoke Times reporter, has written three New York Times-bestselling books about communities left behind by industry and politics. Regardless of the referendum's outcome, she'll be running in the 6th District. Right now, that covers the Shenandoah Valley from Frederick County to Roanoke. If redrawn, it would connect Harrisonburg, Staunton, Waynesboro, Charlottesville, and Roanoke with a ribbon through central Virginia. Macy referred to it as the "university district."
BETH MACY: I feel very fond of all the colleges, and they're a huge incubator and source of economic development in our region. Education is at the top of my platform. I talk about growing up poor and how going to college saved my life. I think we need to double the Pell Grant, we need to strengthen community college and the pipeline between our local industries and trade schools and community colleges.
Based on WMRA's review of the maps, if the district is redrawn, four-term Republican incumbent Ben Cline would technically live in the new 9th District – but Macy believes he still intends to run in the 6th. The Constitution requires congressmen to live in their state – but not their district. Cline's office did not respond to multiple requests for interviews or clarity on that question. He has consistently won reelection to this seat by at least 60%. By the end of 2025, though, Macy was not far behind him in fundraising. This year's first quarter reports are due on April 15.
MACY: The momentum is with Democrats right now. Abigail won by a landslide, the governor's house. … We've seen major upsets going the Democratic way in ruby-red places like Texas and Louisiana. I think voters are really concerned about authoritarianism under Donald Trump, and Ben Cline is just a rubber stamp AI bot, ditto-ditto-ditto boy of Donald Trump. … And now they've got us in a war – they're being led around by their noses by Benjamin Netanyahu in Iran … at a time when Americans are losing their healthcare, when a third of Americans are in debt because of, or suffering to pay back basic healthcare. Trump wants to spend $85 billion on ICE when we're losing our healthcare. They can't even explain why we're in this war.
If the districts are redrawn, Macy would face off against former Congressman Tom Periello in the primary race. His political experience and hefty financial support make him a formidable opponent for the Democratic nomination.
Regardless, Macy supports redistricting.
MACY: Trump started this with what happened in Texas, encouraging them to gerrymander, and that Virginia has decided to fight back with a vengeance. … I think Democrats have to stop showing up to a knife fight with a spork, and this is a perfect example of this.
Down the road, but running in the 9th District, is Adam Murphy. If the Illinois-native software engineer wins the Democratic nomination, he'll be running against eight-term Republican incumbent Morgan Griffith – who also did not respond to our interview requests. The 9th District represents Southwest Virginia, and if its lines are redrawn, it would extend northward to include Highland, Bath, Rockbridge, and part of Augusta County. It's the only redrawn district expected to stay red.
ADAM MURPHY: It's the size of New Jersey, before redistricting. It's 20% of the commonwealth, and if redistricting passes I think it gets to be like 33% of the commonwealth.
Murphy is counting on engaging with disenfranchised and new voters to sway the deeply red district.
MURPHY: Two out of every three people, on average, don't vote in the 9th District every midterm, so there's roughly 400,000 people that are unreached, unheard, and unseen. … You know, our system does not serve everyday folks. It serves the richest of the rich, and I think people have kind of gotten to a point, regardless of what political ideology you subscribe to, that they've had enough. They want someone that's going to listen to them, that's going to represent them, and actually go fight for them and their futures.
Murphy's plans for the region involve boosting economic activity without compromising the beauty of the mountains.
MURPHY: Ecotourism would be massive. … Another big one is, let's take Grundy in Buchanan County, just as an example. I really want us … using, probably, some federal money, to complete the airport there … put a chip manufacturing plant, like a computer chip, somewhere in that area. … I want to make sure rural broadband is brought to every single part of our district. I want to make sure that things like I-77 and I-81 are three lanes the whole way through southwest Virginia.
He has a tempered view of redistricting.
MURPHY: I think it creates some distrust of government, something that I hear a lot when I go around talking to folks in this area. I understand why the Democratic party is doing it, and I support that, because at the national level we've had multiple states redistrict mid-census, which – none of them should be doing it, but they are, and I appreciate at the bare minimum here in Virginia that it's being put to a vote.
In part two of this series, we'll move up the Shenandoah Valley to speak with Pete Barlow and Ken Mitchell.
