Disclaimer from the Editor: This article is news commentary based on an interview with Congressional candidate Beth Macy. It may contain bias, opinions, and commentary from the writer.
Beth Macy recently launched a campaign to run in Virginia’s 6th District. Macy is running alongside four other Democratic candidates for the Congressional seat. Her Republican opponent is Ben Cline, who is currently serving his fourth term in the House of Representatives.
The Virginia General Election is on Nov. 3. The Congressional District election will take place on April 21. Reference Staff Reporter Sophia Vance’s article published March 27 for more information on how the April election results will impact the election in November.
Macy moved to Roanoke in 1989 from her hometown in rural Ohio. She wrote for The Roanoke Times for 25 years until her first book, “Factory Man”, was published in 2014. Since beginning her career as a non-fiction author, three of her books reached the New York Times Bestseller List, with the most notable novel being “Dopesick”.
High school students in the area are often required to read “Dopesick” because it tells the story of how the opioid crisis devastated the Roanoke region, and corporate greed took advantage of hardworking Americans. “Dopesick” has also been adapted into an Emmy-winning TV series on Hulu.
Given Macy’s established background as a writer specializing in marginalized experiences, she gives a unique perspective to the political world. Although she was hesitant to consider a nomination to run for Congress, she decided to launch a campaign when she experienced an overwhelming “sense of moral outrage,” Macy stated, with the current administration’s decisions to harm the working class and serve the rich elite.
Her passion to speak up for the underdog is very personal, as she experienced poverty as a child and was the first in her family to earn a bachelor’s degree. Beth Macy’s newest novel, titled “Paper Girl: A Memoir of Home and Family in a Fractured America”, combines her childhood story with research on the political and economic degradation of her Ohio hometown.
In her campaign, Macy stresses the fact that her opponent, Ben Cline, does not have the same understanding of the life of an average American worker. According to Macy’s campaign website, Cline has voted against funding public health care and against funding to strengthen rural communities.
Macy’s campaign is unique because most of her campaign donations have come from individuals instead of Political Action Committees (PACs), according to the latest data from the Virginia Public Access Project, a nonpartisan campaign finance tracker. PACs are famous for influencing political elections by allowing anonymous and unlimited donations to political campaigns. Macy stressed that just over half of Ben Cline’s donations are from corporate PACs, which are different from the progressive PACS that donated to Beth Macy, such as Medicaid for All. So far, Macy has raised 1.1 million dollars from 12,000 individual donors and two progressive PACs.
In her campaign thus far, Macy has used a portion of her funds to embark on a “listening tour” to voters in the region. Macy’s “go out and listen” campaign has been effective in appealing to voters on both sides, not just to Democrats. Although Macy admits she is often “preaching to the choir” during these visits, she is also striving to close the divide among Democratic voters.
She warns that “the left will divide itself” if the Democratic Party does not find a way to come together under a common goal of reducing prices for American families, creating affordable health care, and properly funding public school systems. In addition, she wants to create a “place of landing” for people who are straying away from President Trump’s ideologies.
She mentioned that one way she plans to unite people is to convince them to “come together for our kids” by advocating for an affordable and accessible college experience. When Macy attended college, her Pell Grant covered 100% of her tuition. Now, the government will cover a maximum of 30% of a student’s tuition through a Pell Grant.
To learn more about Macy’s campaign and specific policy goals, visit her website or social media platforms. To register to vote for the November election, visit the Virginia Department of Elections website.
Madeline Wall
Staff Reporter
