Western North Carolina, including Asheville and Buncombe County and all or part of Avery, Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Swain, Transylvania, and Yancey counties.
General election · Tuesday, November 3, 2026
✓ Fact-checked 2026-09-25: 31 claims re-checked against their sources · 2 corrected · 0 removed
A second, independent research pass re-opened every cited source for this race and corrected or removed anything the source didn’t support.
Independently confirmed the extraordinary claim that Rep. Chuck Edwards was found by the House Ethics Committee to have engaged in misconduct and was censured: fetched Blue Ridge Public Radio's original report (25-page investigation, 'persistent unprofessional and inappropriate conduct,' the 'lavish' gifts and 'intimate dinners and vacations' language, both staffers leaving his office, and both quoted responses) and confirmed it is a real, live article, not a Wikipedia/Ballotpedia summary.
Independently confirmed the House censure vote itself on clerk.house.gov: Roll Call 292 (119th Congress, 2nd Session), H. Res. 1498, 'In the matter of allegations relating to Representative Chuck Edwards,' passed September 1, 2026 by 413 Yea - 2 Nay. The file previously asserted 'The full House voted to censure Edwards' citing only the BPR article (s2), which was published August 3, 2026 - before the vote occurred and therefore could not support that sentence. Corrected: split that claim into its own context item and cited the official Clerk of the House roll call (added as source s9), including the exact date and vote count.
Corrected: the claim that Edwards ended his campaign on August 5, 2026 and that state Rep. Jennifer Balkcom was chosen to replace him was cited only to Ballotpedia (s1, which shows Edwards 'did not make the ballot' but gives no date or process) and the pre-dated BPR article (s2). Fetched The Epoch Times' report (confirmed via a live news search, not Ballotpedia), which independently confirms Edwards announced his withdrawal on X on August 5, 2026 and that the 11th District GOP executive committee selected Balkcom on August 10, 2026; added as source s10 and cited alongside s1/s2. Corrected the file's vaguer 'North Carolina Republican Party selected' to the more precise 'the 11th District Republican Party executive committee.'
Verified the general-election slate (Ager D, Balkcom R, Groo L; Edwards excluded as not on the ballot) against Ballotpedia's North Carolina House elections overview page, and Ager's five-way Democratic primary win (March 3, 2026, defeating Briarwood, Hudspeth, Maddox, and Whipple) against the same page.
Verified Ager's background, priorities, and quotes ('Rising costs hurt our businesses...', 'Helping the rich get richer...') verbatim against his Ballotpedia profile and campaign-ad quote.
Verified Balkcom's background (Henderson County native, East Henderson HS, Blue Ridge Community College 2016, mortgage loan officer, NC House District 117 since 2023, committee assignments) and her Candidate Connection survey quotes (HB 805, farmland-protection priorities) verbatim against her Ballotpedia profile and survey response, and her campaign-ad quote ('Protecting family farms is personal to me...') against Ager's Ballotpedia page, which hosts both candidates' ad quotes.
Verified Travis Groo's background (University of West Florida 2000, transportation profession) and survey quotes ('Balance the budget. Get rid of the income tax...', 'Property Rights.') verbatim against his Ballotpedia profile and survey response. No further corrections needed.
Incumbent Chuck Edwards won the March 3, 2026 Republican primary, but ended his re-election campaign on August 5, 2026, after the House Ethics Committee released a report finding he had "engaged in persistent unprofessional and inappropriate conduct" toward two female staffers and recommending he be censured. The 11th District Republican Party executive committee selected North Carolina House member Jennifer Balkcom on August 10, 2026 to replace Edwards as the Republican nominee on the November ballot. Jamie Ager won a five-way Democratic primary.[1][2][10]
The Ethics Committee's report, based on a 25-page investigation, described Edwards giving two young staffers "lavish" gifts including jewelry, designer purses, and a KitchenAid mixer, inviting them on "intimate dinners and vacations," and sending personal notes; it said both staffers eventually left his office. Edwards's attorneys responded that the findings did not establish sexual harassment under House rules and that he "sincerely regrets that his behavior created discomfort," while his campaign said he "looks forward to having his name cleared."[2]
On September 1, 2026, the full House voted 413-2 to agree to H. Res. 1498, "In the matter of allegations relating to Representative Chuck Edwards," censuring him.[9]
Edwards remains a sitting member of Congress representing the 11th District through the end of his term but is not on the November 3, 2026 general election ballot.[1]
Only positions documented in a cited source are shown. Where an officeholder’s recorded votes speak to an issue, the votes set the position (marked “votes”). A dash means we found no clear public position — not that the candidate has none.
Jamie Ager is the Democratic nominee for North Carolina's 11th Congressional District, a Buncombe County farmer and co-founder of Hickory Nut Gap, a meat producer.[3]
Basic profile — the most important sourced facts we found.
Positions on the issues
✓SupportsExpand public health coverage
Opposes cuts to Medicaid, saying it covers his neighbors and friends in the district.[4]
“Medicaid insures my neighbors and my friends and now it's being ripped away.”
✓SupportsFaster transition away from fossil fuels
Points to worsening severe weather affecting western North Carolina, a region hit by Hurricane Helene, as a concern.[4]
“The weather that batters us is only getting worse.”
In their words — priorities
Points to rising costs, Medicaid cuts, and increasingly severe weather as issues affecting his neighbors and his farm business.[4]
Frames his campaign as opposing policies he says favor wealthy interests over working Americans.[4]
Background
Born in Fairview, North Carolina; earned a high school diploma from A.C. Reynolds High School and bachelor's degrees in environmental studies and history from Warren Wilson College.[3]
Career experience includes working as a farmer and co-founder of Hickory Nut Gap, which he describes as a sustainable meat producer; affiliated with the Buncombe County Farm Bureau and the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association.[3]
Campaign money
Raised $3.1M · spent $868K · $2.2M cash on hand (through 2026-06-30)FEC filing ↗
RMember, North Carolina House of Representatives, District 117 (since 2023)
Selected by the North Carolina Republican Party to replace Chuck Edwards on the general-election ballot after he ended his re-election campaign following an Ethics Committee censure recommendation. Balkcom had won her own re-election primary for her state House seat but will not appear on that ballot in November.
Jennifer Balkcom is the Republican nominee for North Carolina's 11th Congressional District, a Henderson County mortgage loan officer and member of the North Carolina House of Representatives since 2023.[5]
Basic profile — the most important sourced facts we found.
On the record — official actions
billSponsored North Carolina House Bill 805 (Prevent Sexual Exploitation of Women and Minors Act), which was signed into state law.[6]
billSponsored the North Carolina Farmland and Military Protection Act, to restrict foreign ownership of North Carolina farmland.[6]
actionElected to the North Carolina House of Representatives in 2022, representing District 117; served on the Agriculture, Banking, House Finance, Local Government, and State Government committees.[5]
Positions on the issues
✓SupportsIncrease police funding and staffing
Sponsored state legislation strengthening penalties for violent offenders and felons caught with firearms.[6]
“She also advanced four additional criminal justice and public safety reforms that were signed into law. These measures strengthen penalties for violent offenders, ensure tougher sentencing for felons caught with firearms.”
In their words — priorities
Points to sponsoring House Bill 805, the Prevent Sexual Exploitation of Women and Minors Act, and other criminal justice measures as a legislative priority.[6]
Says protecting North Carolina farmland from foreign ownership and securing disaster relief for farmers are among her legislative priorities, drawing on growing up on a family farm in Henderson County.[6]
In a campaign ad, said she led an effort in the state legislature to prevent foreign ownership of North Carolina farmland.[4]
Background
Born in Henderson County, North Carolina; earned a high school diploma from East Henderson High School and an associate degree from Blue Ridge Community College in 2016.[5]
Career experience includes working as a small business owner and mortgage loan officer; has served as vice president of the Hendersonville Women's Club and the Hendersonville Lions Club, and as treasurer of the Mortgage Bankers Association of Western North Carolina.[5]
Has served on the boards of the Henderson County Education Foundation, the AdventHealth Foundation Board, and the Henderson County Planning Board.[5]
Elected to the North Carolina House of Representatives in 2022, representing District 117; assigned to the Agriculture, Banking, House Finance, Local Government (Land Use, Planning and Development), and State Government committees in the 2023-2024 session.[5]
Chuck Edwards is the sitting incumbent but is not a general-election candidate; his ethics case is described in context, sourced to Blue Ridge Public Radio's reporting on the House Ethics Committee report, rather than being treated as an unproven allegation. The August 5 withdrawal date, the August 10 selection of Jennifer Balkcom, and the September 1 House censure vote (413-2, Roll Call 292) were independently confirmed against The Epoch Times and the official Clerk of the House roll-call record, since the original BPR source predated those events. Travis Groo (Libertarian) has a minimal public record beyond his brief candidate survey answers.
Sources · 10
Researched 2026-09-25. Green citations are official government records.