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 second in a four-part series.
Virginia Democrats are hoping to redraw congressional district lines to flip four seats blue in the midterms this year. But the party isn't all of one mind about this endeavor. In part two of this series, WMRA spoke with two candidates from the Shenandoah Valley – Pete Barlow and Ken Mitchell.
Pete Barlow is a valley native who spent more than 15 years working in natural resource and public infrastructure management at Virginia State Parks, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA. He now lives on a farm in Augusta County, which is currently in the 6th District. If the proposed maps are approved, though, he'd be in the new 7th District, which some have termed "the lobster" for its rough "T" shape. It would stretch from Augusta and Rockingham counties northeast to Fairfax and south to Powhatan.
Barlow, who's running for the Democratic nomination, does not support this proposal. He hasn't decided if he would stay in the race if the maps are redrawn.
PETE BARLOW: If we lump in urban areas with our rural neighbors, rural people aren't going to be represented. They haven't been represented for decades, and nothing's going to change if we have urban-led districts that are out of metropolitan areas. … The fact that we are trying to engage in partisan gerrymandering, paying career politicians and lawyers to litigate in Richmond, rather than spending those resources on local, effective ground games, that's really egregious … and it's not going to build a long-term coalition, and that's what we need.
In the current 6th District, four-term Republican incumbent Ben Cline has consistently won reelection with at least 60% of the vote. Based on WMRA's review of the maps, if the district is redrawn, Cline would technically live in the new 9th – but the Constitution only requires that he live in Virginia, not necessarily the district he's running in. Cline's office did not respond to multiple requests for interviews or clarity on that question.
Barlow says a Democratic win in the current 6th would require changing minds and motivating people who typically don't vote.
BARLOW: There's 50,000 people who used to lean Democrat who don't show up at our polls … so that's one side of the coin. The other side is the fact that our neighbors are coming over to realize that … we never signed up for an administration that's going to unilaterally tariff our closest trading allies and engage in forever wars abroad … unilaterally terrorize our immigrant neighbors who are the economic backbone of our local industry, but also the cultural backbone of many of our communities, and the diversity that we all love.
There are several issues he believes could unify Shenandoah Valley voters.
BARLOW: Our current representative is not standing up for farmers, hasn't done any tangible work to make sure that they are in a more prosperous place with local dairy processing, or local beef processing. … We need to have a unified approach to natural resource protection and clean air and clean water and … small businesses around here. Those are things that we could get a lot of people on board about.
Just north in Rockingham County, Democratic Candidate Ken Mitchell is also running in the current 6th District and would be moved to the proposed 7th. After a 24-year military career, Mitchell worked in telecommunications, historic renovation, and civil engineering all over the state. He retired to the valley six years ago, and ran against Cline unsuccessfully in 2024.
KEN MITCHELL: I think that overall experience – not just in business, but life experience, as a father to daughters, a grandfather to five grandchildren – that gives me a different perspective on what the future needs to be for this country. … I think I am the candidate that can bridge that rural-urban divide.
Two local issues he wants to address as a congressman are Interstate 81 and data centers.
MITCHELL: We're doing upgrades for I-81 and widening, and that desperately needs to happen, but my concern becomes – you widen it, you're going to put more traffic on it, and it's not going to solve the problem. As I've talked to a lot of constituents in the area … they're concerned about the bail-off traffic that's coming off of I-81 when there's an accident.
If the new maps are enacted, Republican incumbent John McGuire would also live in the new 7th District – although Cardinal News previously reported he didn't respond to their question about where he would run. McGuire also didn't respond to our requests for an interview. So, if he decided to stick with the 5th District, it's possible the new 7th would not have an incumbent in the running.
Mitchell supports the redistricting proposal "from the big picture perspective."
MITCHELL: I understand why Virginia is engaged in this. Trump reached out to Texas and said "find me more congressional seats." California stepped in with their referendum and their ballot and passed it. North Carolina, through legislation, Missouri, other states. … The thing I like about it, redistricting, and support it in Virginia, is because it will go to the people and the people will decide what they feel is right.
In part three of this series, we'll head over to central Virginia to talk to Salaam Bhatti and Tom Periello.
