Jamie Ager
Jamie Ager (Democratic Party) is running for election to the U.S. House to represent North Carolina's 11th Congressional District. He is on the ballot in the general election on November 3, 2026. He advanced from the Democratic primary on March 3, 2026.
Biography
Jamie Ager was born in Fairview, North Carolina. He earned a high school diploma from A.C. Reynolds High School and bachelor's degrees in environmental studies and history from Warren Wilson College. His career experience includes working as a farmer and the co-founder of Hickory Nut Gap.[1] Ager has been affiliated with the Buncombe County Farm Bureau and the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association.[2]
Elections
2026
See also: North Carolina's 11th Congressional District election, 2026
General election
The candidate list in this election may not be complete.
General election for U.S. House North Carolina District 11
Incumbent Chuck Edwards, Jamie Ager, Travis Groo, and John Rogers are running in the general election for U.S. House North Carolina District 11 on November 3, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Chuck Edwards (R) | |
 | Jamie Ager (D) | |
 | Travis Groo (L)  | |
| John Rogers (Independent) | ||
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. House North Carolina District 11
Jamie Ager defeated Richard Hudspeth, Zelda Briarwood, Paul Maddox, and Lee Whipple in the Democratic primary for U.S. House North Carolina District 11 on March 3, 2026.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jamie Ager | 64.7 | 49,077 |
 | Richard Hudspeth | 15.9 | 12,027 | |
 | Zelda Briarwood | 13.0 | 9,852 | |
 | Paul Maddox | 5.1 | 3,842 | |
 | Lee Whipple | 1.4 | 1,071 | |
| Total votes: 75,869 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Jacob Lawrence (D)
- Chris Harjes (D)
- Morris Davis (D)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House North Carolina District 11
Incumbent Chuck Edwards defeated Adam Smith in the Republican primary for U.S. House North Carolina District 11 on March 3, 2026.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Chuck Edwards | 70.1 | 47,634 |
 | Adam Smith | 29.9 | 20,332 | |
| Total votes: 67,966 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Libertarian primary election
The Libertarian primary election was canceled. Travis Groo advanced from the Libertarian primary for U.S. House North Carolina District 11.
Endorsements
Ager received the following endorsements. To send us additional endorsements, click here.
Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Jamie Ager has not yet completed Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey. Send a message to Jamie Ager asking him to fill out the survey. If you are Jamie Ager, click here to fill out Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey.
Who fills out Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey?
Any candidate running for elected office, at any level, can complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Survey. Completing the survey will update the candidate's Ballotpedia profile, letting voters know who they are and what they stand for. More than 25,000 candidates have taken Ballotpedia's candidate survey since we launched it in 2015. Learn more about the survey here.
You can ask Jamie Ager to fill out this survey by using the buttons below or emailing team@agerforcongress.com.
Campaign website
Ager's campaign website stated the following:
Recovering from Hurricane Helene
Western North Carolina needs funding to recover from Hurricane Helene. As we grieved the friends and neighbors we lost, we cleaned up the mess the storm caused. At Hickory Nut Gap, we looked around at our neighbors and saw homes and bridges washed away, countless small businesses impacted, and major public infrastructure catastrophically damaged. Estimates of damage across WNC range between $60 and $100 billion. Our small towns and communities are still waiting for the funds Congress promised us to rebuild our basic infrastructure.
When politicians visited to take pictures, lots of promises were made. Over a year later, we are still here waiting for money committed to our small communities. Our communities need a champion who will fight for the funds we were promised.
In Congress, my top priority will be delivering recovery funds and pushing to help our region come back even stronger than we were. Let’s cut red tape and get money to where it matters most: on the ground, in the hands of the people and our small businesses.
Making Quality Healthcare Affordable and Accessible
Every person should have access to quality healthcare when they need it.
Instead, we have rising premiums, high prescription drug costs, and rural hospitals on the brink of closure. We need to do better than a system where folks neglect getting care because they are concerned about going broke due to the cost. And the recent cuts to Medicare and Medicaid by Congress means fewer people, kids especially, will get the care they need.
I’ll support robust Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security so the folks most at risk in our communities have the support they need. Let’s have robust Medicare services that allow folks to age with dignity — including services such as home and community based care, and dental and vision are covered for Medicare patients.
I’ll defend Medicare’s power to negotiate drug prices and keep capping insulin and other essentials. Americans shouldn’t be overpaying for prescription drugs.
I’ll push for a public option so everyone has access to quality affordable health care.
And I’ll improve our mental health support system including expanding programs to educate and destigmatize mental health issues, allowing earlier intervention, enhancing in and out patient services, and broadly supporting efforts that improve mental health.
As an entrepreneur, I admire creative solutions to problems. Health care is a great example of where we need fresh ideas — and I’ll work with anyone to get that done.
Lowering Costs
The math doesn’t work between wages and the high cost of living. People are getting squeezed from every direction. Utilities, childcare, housing, and food — prices are going up for just about every basic need.
We need more housing for owners and renters. I’ll support programs for first time home buyers and public service employees like teachers, firefighters, and first responders.
I’ll support tax credits that help families save energy and pay less for heat and electricity.
I’ll take on monopolization — from the food industry to our utilities — so corporations don’t control too much business and the free market can work its magic.
If childcare costs more than your job pays, how can you justify working? I’ll push to expand grants and the child tax credit for young families.
I’ll support teaching personal finance in schools so our kids know how to save and invest their hard earned dollars.
I’ll push both parties to reform the tax code so the folks at the top pay their fair share. And I’ll support reforms that help working people, like no tax on tips — real tips, not bonuses for CEOs.
Stopping Government Waste and Corruption
Trust in the government is understandably low. Corporations and special interest groups have too much power and influence over policy.
I’ll back campaign finance reforms that shine a light on dark money and reduce the outsized influence of special interests in Washington. I’ll fight to ban members of Congress from stock trading, so no one is using insider knowledge for personal gain.
I also believe in transparency, like making sure folks can see clearly where federal dollars go and ensuring every dollar is spent where it’s needed most. And I’ll support stronger ethics and anti-corruption rules in Congress.
Government shutdowns, partisan gridlock, and political blame-gaming have become all that people see from Congress. Social media algorithms and generative artificial intelligence are being designed to put us into silos and keep our attention on confrontation for as long as possible. That confrontation leads to clicks, which leads to dollars for these social media companies. This incentive to divide us is dangerous and I’ll work on solutions to bring us back together.
There are too many folks in Congress who seem to be living out their days focused on their own well being as opposed to the hard work leading a country. I’ll support reforms to inject new ideas, and new people, into government.
Government bureaucracies should function well and be user friendly for everyday people. I’ll support cutting red tape and repealing burdensome laws that make it harder to deliver help to people in need. I’ll focus on making government institutions more customer focused, nimble, and an efficient use of taxpayer dollars.
Reforming Our Immigration System
We have kicked the can down the road too long on comprehensive immigration reform and it’s time we got together and came up with a solution to move our country forward.
Our immigration system needs to be clear, fair, and realistic. I support reforms that treat people with dignity and give businesses the workforce they need to grow, all while keeping every community safe.
Expanding Benefits & Services for Veterans and Military Families
Western North Carolina is home to tens of thousands of veterans, including two of my brothers. A lot of them get their care at the Charles George VA Medical Center. I’ll protect the VA from cuts and closures and push to expand clinics across the district so folks don’t have to drive hours for care. I’ll fight for mobile units to deliver health support and screenings for those who cannot travel. And I’ll support the Fisher House in Asheville so families can stay nearby, free of charge, when their loved one is receiving care.
Growing Small Businesses and Good Jobs
Small businesses are the backbone of Western North Carolina and rural America. As a small business owner, I know that small business employees and owners are working people scraping by every day.
Economically strong families are good for our communities. A strong middle class is good for business.
Hurricane Helene took a large toll on small businesses all over western North Carolina and they need help. I’ll fight to cut red tape and expand access to loans and grants for our small businesses affected by Helene.
I’ll push to expand rural broadband and cell coverage, so even the smallest farm or shop has a fair shot at reaching customers worldwide.
I’ll always support good investments and programs to facilitate economic development, manufacturing and modern jobs. And I’ll always promote Western North Carolina as a great place to do business!
Supporting Local Farms and a Healthy Food System
As a small farmer, I believe that US agriculture should promote small farmers doing entrepreneurial agriculture. Creating a farming system that creates healthy food that people can afford means we are making the world a better place. At Hickory Nut Gap, we partnered with the NC Department of Agriculture to get local grass-fed beef into local schools in our region. This can be done!
Agriculture is a place where we can find bipartisan solutions to building a better food system that is good for farmers, good for the land, and creates healthy outcomes for our communities. This also includes other land based industries like the timber industry. We need to promote policies that take care of our forest resources and manage them for future generations.
With my background in rural agriculture, I will support things that promote young farmers on the land. Examples are land ownership, right to repair legislation, and facilitating markets for agriculture and timber products.
I’ll work to strengthen the safety net programs that keep people afloat, like SNAP and WIC, so kids don’t go hungry and seniors can afford groceries.
Defending Our Environment and Public Lands
We live in the most beautiful place in the world and our natural environment is special. Many of my favorite memories are hiking, fishing, and swimming in the beautiful rivers and lakes of our area. Our public lands aren’t just our beautiful backyard — they are our lifeline, a strong economic engine, and long-standing connection to our culture. And they are a resource that we must steward wisely.
We have the two most visited national parks in the country, the Blue Ridge Parkway and Great Smoky Mountains National Park, along with several national forests, wilderness areas, and other public lands. These are assets that we must cherish and protect. I’ll never allow them to be sold off.
Keeping Our Communities Safe
Our law enforcement and first responders are pillars of our community. They serve an often thankless job, but when disaster strikes we rely on them the most. Our law enforcement and first responders deserve to be well trained, well compensated, and have the equipment they need to navigate the tough terrain here in Western North Carolina. And we need to hire more of them to keep us safe.
We need more federal funding to improve firefighter pay and our rural fire stations. Hurricane Helene showed us previously unknown devastation, and we must be prepared for similar events in the future. Our first responders acted swiftly and heroically, but many of them didn’t have what they needed to be able to effectively help in times of crisis. We can’t let that happen again.
We must invest in better pay and training for our law enforcement officers, as well as programs that help tackle the root causes of crime.
— Jamie Ager's campaign website (February 12, 2026)
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
See also
2026 Elections
External links
|
Candidate U.S. House North Carolina District 11 |
Personal |
Footnotes
