The list of Democratic candidates seeking to unseat Republican Rep. Ben Cline has grown to three, with the addition of former journalist and renowned author Beth Macy to the field.
Macy joins Pete Barlow, a former official with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Ken Mitchell, who ran against Cline in 2024, in what is shaping up to be a primary election to challenge Cline, of Botetourt County.
That primary could take place in a solidly Republican district where Cline won with 63% of the vote in 2024.
Or, congressional district lines may be redrawn before the election, after the Democratic-controlled General Assembly introduced and passed a constitutional amendment to do so during a special session in early November. The General Assembly will need to again pass the amendment during the 2026 session, and then the measure will go before voters who will have the final say in a referendum. It’s unclear what the new 6th Congressional District could look like — official maps for redistricting have not yet been made available.
General Assembly Democrats have said that the goal of the redistricting effort is to reduce the number of Republican-held congressional seats after several Republican-controlled states have redistricted to lessen the number of Democratic-held congressional seats, starting with Texas, followed by Missouri and North Carolina. Democratic-controlled California passed its referendum to do so on Nov. 4.
Macy, of Roanoke, has not yet officially announced her campaign. She had told The Roanoke Times — her former employer — that she is “seriously considering” the run. She did not respond to an emailed request for comment from Cardinal News.
“I will have an announcement,” Macy told The Roanoke Times. “I’m really excited to see folks next Tuesday, and talk more about this decision and what has gone into it.” In a livestream Wednesday via Substack entitled “Getting in the arena” to talk about her book, she was asked about her congressional bid and replied: “The cat’s out of the bag.”
A webpage titled “Beth Macy for Congress” was live on ActBlue, a Democratic fundraising site, on Wednesday. Macy’s announcement is slated to take place on Nov. 18 at the Historic Fire Station #1 in downtown Roanoke, according to ActBlue.
“Beth is running for Congress now because she can no longer stand idly by while working people take the brunt of cruel budget cuts while seemingly everything — from groceries to healthcare — becomes more unaffordable. That’s why she’s decided to set aside her pen and turn to creating real change,” the webpage read.
Macy worked as a reporter for The Roanoke Times from 1989 until 2014. She wrote five books, including two bestsellers, one of which, a nonfiction book titled “Dopesick,” examines the origin of the opioid epidemic in the U.S. and its effect on small towns in the Appalachian region.
