Jamie Ager Triumphs over Jennifer Balkcom: Republicans’ Catastrophic Energy & Disaster Recovery Policies Cost Them Election

Raleigh, N.C. — Tonight Democrat Jamie Ager defeated Republican Jennifer Balkcom in a historic victory for the people of North Carolina. By electing Ager to Congress, North Carolinians made their disapproval of Republicans’ energy and disaster recovery policies known: from the war in Iran that is driving up gas and diesel prices, to the slow-rolling of disaster funds for Western North Carolina after Hurricane Helene.  According to this WRAL/WSOC poll, a majority of North Carolinians are dissatisfied with the government’s response to Hurricane Helene, two years after the storm. 

Time and time again, Republicans like Balkcom cheered the Trump administration’s policies, and now North Carolina families and businesses are paying for it many times over — at the pump, on their utility bills, through the data centers polluting their communities, and as they continue to rebuild from Helene. Ager will tackle corporate greed and rising costs, put guardrails on utility bill-raising, polluting data centers, and fight for Western North Carolina’s recovery from Hurricane Helene.

Ager said it best in this Cardinal & Pine article:  “‘We’ve got people still living in campers, still living in tents. We’ve got people living in sheds. We’ve got families that are struggling. We have small businesses that are struggling, and people in Washington, DC forgot about us here in Western North Carolina,’ Ager said. ‘And when I get elected, they’re not going to forget about Western North Carolina anymore, because I’m going to fight for this community.’”

“Western North Carolina needs competent leadership that will help them recover, and that’s why they elected Jamie Ager,” said Climate Power’s North Carolina State Director Terryn Hall. “Jennifer Balkcom would’ve cosigned Trump’s agenda at every turn, and we cannot afford it. North Carolina families need relief from skyrocketing costs, and they need the disaster recovery funds that they are owed.  Jamie Ager will work to bring down costs and fight for recovery funds for Western North Carolina.

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