Republican congressman Morgan Griffith has served in Virginia’s 9th district since 2011. His district includes Southwest Virginia, an area that’s been a reliable win for Republicans and for Donald Trump for over a decade.
The Democrat challenging Griffith this year is a fourth-generation farmer, Joy Powers.
“I know the democrats need to do a better job in communicating and working with our agricultural communities,” Powers said.
In the past, Donald Trump won by huge margins in parts of the 9th District. In Far Southwest Virginia, Buchanan and Lee Counties voted for Trump in 2024 by 85%. So it would be a big surprise if a Democrat beat Griffith.
But a generation ago, Southwest Virginia used to reliably elect Democrats. Politics were different here in the 1990s, when coal unions still held power, points out Virginia Tech political science professor, Karen Hult.
“Certainly, union activism and union membership was extraordinarily strong in this part of Virginia as it is in West Virginia as well,” Hult said.
Former Democratic representative Rick Boucher held this seat from 1983 until he lost to Griffith in 2010.
Karen Hult says it will be interesting to see what voter turnout looks like this fall. If even some voters swing towards Democrats in the 9th, it may signal a shift in how rural voters are feeling about the Republican party.
Powers said one of her strengths is she knows how to work across party lines. She grew up in a bipartisan family with a conservative mom.
“I joke that even though she made me listen to Rush Limbaugh as a child, she’s been voting independently, and mainly for democrats since the Trump era in politics,” Powers explained.
Griffith usually votes along with fellow Republicans. But he said he has a good working relationship with a few Democrats, including senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine.
“You can’t do some of this stuff if you’re constantly at war,” Griffith said. “Now, on some of the big issues, yep, there’s some conflict.”
Powers pointed to one issue she thinks Republican and Democratic voters are concerned about: data centers.
“I think that ultimately we just have to get the power back to the American people,” Powers said. “And I think that across party lines the American people are very sure about how they feel about data centers.”
Powers supports a national moratorium that stops all data center development until there are federal guidelines that regulate how they use water and electricity.
“Ultimately we cannot give these tech companies free reign in our country anymore, and we have to set the parameters,” Powers said.
Here, Griffith does not agree. “Those people who are just totally against data centers I think are misguided,” Griffith said. “We have to have data centers to power the technology and to power the technological revolutions going forward. If we want the Chinese to control everything, fine, don’t do data centers.”
Griffith said he does want to see some rules for data centers. “The concerns about the electric rates, the concerns about water, are legitimate concerns, and we need to address those, Griffith said, adding he thinks each locality should be able to decide whether they want data centers.
If reelected, Griffith wants to keep pushing for another kind of federal regulation: rules for THC products. “I mean I’ve never used those substances, but they should be adult products, they should be labeled as adult products,” Griffith said. “They shouldn’t be packaged in brightly colored gummy packages.”
Powers said her priorities are in supporting farmers, and fixing health care.
“The healthcare system has been broken in Southwest Virginia for years,” Powers said. “The Big Beautiful Bill was just kind of the last straw, but there’s a lot of work to be done.”
She’s worried that rural hospitals in Southwest Virginia are at risk of closing, because of federal cuts to Medicaid.
“I’ve sat down across from a few of our hospital CEOs, and they do not know how they’re going to make it work,” Powers said. “I’ll just say it plainly.”
Powers challenged Griffith to three debates. He declined to participate, saying voters in the 9th District already know where he stands.
You can read more about Griffith and Powers at our 2026 Virginia Voter Guide, where candidates share their position on various issues.
