News

Ager, Russo, Kustin, Smith ride blue wave

Clockwise, from top left, Democrats Jamie Ager, Lynne Russo, Jerry Smith and Mary Ellen Kustin rode the Election Day blue wave to victory on Nov. 3.

By Bill Moss, Published: November 4, 2026

Democrat Jamie Ager defeated Republican nominee Jennifer Balkcom for Western North Carolina's 11th Congressional seat Tuesday as signs suggested a blue wave could be robust enough to flip Republican-held seats in solid red districts.

Ager led 62-37% with 72% of the vote counted in the 14-county district covering Western North Carolina.

More surprising was state House District 117, where Democrat Lynne Russo defeated Chelsea Walsh. Sen. Tim Moffitt turned back Democratic challenger Doyle G. Brown Jr.

Democratic challenger Mary Ellen Kustin became the first Democrat to win a countywide election as a Democrat since Tax Collector Terry Lyda won re-election in 2002. And, in an officially nonpartisan race, Democrat Jerry Smith rode the blue wave to win the Hendersonville mayoral race after switching from unaffiliated last year.

Roy Cooper flipped the U.S. Senate seat, vanquishing Trump-endorsed Republican nominee Michael Whatley by an even wider margin than polls projected. Cooper was beating the Republican nominee in Henderson County 55-45 percent in early returns that included the large early voting totals.

In the Hendersonville mayoral race, Jerry Smith led Jennifer Hensley 55-45% with half the city's 14 precincts counted, while Gina Baxter led among five candidates for city council, with 36% of the vote, followed by fellow incumbent Melinda Lowrance with 30% and challenger Jeff Groh, with 22%. Brett Warner had 11%.

County voters overwhelmingly favored a farmland preservation bond issue.

Overall, 51.8% of the county's 93,070 registered voters turned out, the Board of Elections reported.

Ager's victory was part of a nationwide blue surge that was projected to give Democrats control of the U.S. House for the first time since 2018.

"I’m honored to have our neighbors’ confidence to represent them in Congress,” Ager said. “This is my promise to you as your next congressman: I’m going to go up to Washington, DC, and fight like hell to make sure each and every one of us has that fair chance. I’m going to fight for better wages, lower costs, quality healthcare, and the Helene recovery funding we still need."

Ager will be the first Democrat to represent North Carolina’s 11th District since Heath Shuler defeated eight-term incumbent Charles Taylor in 2006. The farmer from Fairview continues the legacy of his grandfather, Jamie Clarke, who represented the seat from 1987–1981.