6th District Candidate Beth Macy (D)
Campaign Website: https://bethmacyforcongress.com/
Candidate Questionnaire from WMRA:
Q: Where in Virginia do you live?
A: Roanoke
Q: How would you describe your career history?
A: I am a reporter and author from Roanoke, Virginia, who decided to enter politics so that I could speak for the outsiders and underdogs who have been ignored by a system built to serve billionaires and the powerful. I am a native of Urbana, Ohio, the first in my family to go to college, and my husband and I raised two kids in Roanoke on a reporter’s and a teacher’s salary. I spent 25 years as an award-winning reporter at The Roanoke Times before authoring bestselling books "Factory Man," "Truevine," "Dopesick," "Raising Lazarus" and "Paper Girl."
"Dopesick" helped change the narrative on addiction treatment in the country, brought "Big Pharma" to account for its lies and became an Emmy-winning and Peabody-winning series on Hulu. I have always spoken truth to power, comforted the afflicted, and afflicted the comfortable.
As a congresswoman, I will fight for the rights of families who work harder than ever just to get by while the powerful reap all the benefits for themselves.
Q: List any college degrees or professional certifications you hold.
A: Bowling Green State University, bachelor of science degree in journalism. Hollins University, master of arts degree in English/creative writing. Nieman Fellowship for Journalism at Harvard, 2010. Guggenheim Fellowship for Nonfiction, 2024.
Q: Have you served in an elected or appointed political office before? When, where, and in what position?
A: Never.
AI USE
Q: Please describe any ways you’ve used generative artificial intelligence in your campaign (to produce mailers, signs, a website, public statements, etc.).
A: My campaign does not use AI to produce any communications or artwork.
DIVISION OF POWER
Q: What do you see as Congress’ role in acting as a check and balance on the other branches of the federal government?
A: Congress has lost its spine in failing to stand up to the president. When I am in Washington, we will end the president’s self-dealing and corruption, restore the House of Representatives’ power over tariffs and the federal purse, ban stock trading by elected officials and return power to the people.
Context from WMRA:
The New York Times reported earlier this year that President Donald Trump collected about $1.4 billion in new revenues from cryptocurrency businesses that directly benefited from his actions as president in 2025.
AFFORDABILITY
Q: The United Way estimates that 38% of Virginia households, and 41% of American households, live below the ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) threshold – the amount of income required to afford basic needs in their locality. How do you think the federal government should address affordability challenges?
A: The crisis of high prices was created by choice. The president, aided and abetted by the billionaire class, chose to wreck incomes and promised benefits of working families, federal employees, veterans, farmers and millions of other Americans by rewarding themselves with $2 trillion in tax cuts. Trump’s tariffs alone cost families an average of $1,700 a year, a figure that is probably higher now since it was first revealed last spring. Trump’s war of distraction in Iran has sent gas prices soaring, and raised diesel and fertilizer costs for farmers. Ending the unnecessary tariffs war, negotiating a peaceful resolution in Iran, restoring Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits and rescinding Medicaid cuts will have an immediate impact on bringing prices down and putting more money in the pockets of families who must now choose between buying a gallon of milk or a gallon of gas. We must also make sure Social Security stays solvent by having the wealthiest pay their fair share. Politicians have the power to make better choices that will help working Americans.
Context from WMRA:
An analysis by the Center for American Progress, a progressive policy institute, estimates that the "One Big Beautiful Bill's" tax provisions will save the wealthiest 10% of Americans approximately $2.3 trillion through changes to business taxes, pass-through deductions, marginal tax rates, and other policies. The U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee – Minority estimates that the average American family paid roughly $1,745 in tariff costs between February 2025 and January 2026. The Associated Press reports that diesel hit a record price in the U.S. on September 4, due to the Iran War's disruption to the world's flow of fuel. Gas prices have also risen, although not as fast as the price of diesel.
DATA CENTERS
Q: With Virginia being home to the largest data center market in the world, and new facilities continually being built across the state and nation, what do you see as Congress' role in regulating this industry and the demand it places on our energy grid and water resources?
A: I support a moratorium on all data center construction until there are guardrails in place that guarantee protection of our land, water, energy costs and future jobs of our children and grandchildren. This is an issue that has brought all political stripes together. Citizens in the Shenandoah Valley and in Franklin County have effectively stopped some data center projects. This is about people taking power back from billionaires and one trillionaire. Google's proposed hyperscale data center in Botetourt County will draw two million gallons of water a day, and possibly up to eight million gallons, from Carvins Cove near Roanoke. Energy use and greenhouse emissions will rise. All of these costs are meant to benefit the explosive growth of artificial intelligence, which threatens our economy, jobs and even our national security. Goldman Sachs, no foe of "Big Tech," estimates AI is currently eliminating 16,000 jobs a month. A year ago, Goldman Sachs predicted AI would displace 6% of the workforce. That figure is now up to 9%. AI's threat is frightening. We must contain AI before it controls us.
Context from WMRA:
The Roanoke Times reported in August that a data center proposed in Franklin County was canceled. Cardinal News reports that the town of Front Royal will not allow data centers in any industrial areas, while other localities in the Shenandoah Valley are still evaluating data center proposals and policies. Cardinal News reports that a Google data center in the works in Botetourt County may draw up to two million gallons of water a day in the beginning of the project, and up to eight million gallons a day following expansion.
ENERGY
Q: Where do you stand on the pending Dominion Energy–NextEra merger?
A: I am opposed to the merger, which would create the world’s largest utility company. This merger is a giveaway to "Big Tech," and it will raise rates for customers, wreck rural landscapes and power AI, which as I have said before, is a threat to future jobs. We should be breaking apart corporate monopolies, not approving them.
ABORTION
Q: Where do you stand on the issue of abortion, and do you believe there’s a role for federal legislation in regulating abortion?
A: I will work with Democratic majorities to codify Roe v. Wade into federal law. A woman’s ability to choose how and when to start a family should be decided by parents and doctors, not politicians. However, the Supreme Court took away women’s constitutionally protected rights in 2022, which allowed "Big Government" to bully its way between women and their doctors. Virginia is the only Southern state where a woman's right to choose is still legal. In the 14 states where abortion rights have been overturned, maternal mortality has increased by 9.2%. Incredibly, eight states don't allow abortion exceptions in the case of rape or incest. Six don’t allow exceptions to save a woman’s life. These immoral restrictions clearly violate the fundamental civil rights of women, and I will work to remove those limits -- including limits on birth control, abortion medication and IVF treatments -- across the United States through legislation. I also support Virginia’s proposed constitutional amendment to guarantee women’s reproductive rights.
Context from WMRA:
A study co-led by researchers with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and UCLA School of Public Health found that pregnancy-associated mortality across 14 states that imposed total or six-week abortion bans after the fall of Roe v. Wade may have increased 9.2% by the end of 2023. KFF, a nonprofit health policy research organization, writes that five states have an abortion ban in effect that does not provide an exception for the health of the mother. Nine states have abortion bans in effect that do not provide an exception for cases of rape or incest.
AUTOMATIC LICENSE PLATE READERS
Q: What is your stance on the use of Flock or other automatic license plate reader cameras in our district?
A: I support law enforcement’s efforts to stop crimes and solve the ones that have been committed. Technology is a tool that police can effectively use to protect the public. However, it’s obvious that Flock readers have been inappropriately used or installed in many Virginia localities. I believe that Virginia communities should not use Flock cameras or keep personal data that they record. Safety is paramount, as is our liberty as a free people.
HEALTHCARE
Q: Healthcare systems in our district, including Valley Health and Augusta Health, have spoken out about the impacts that federal funding cuts for Medicaid and other healthcare programs will have on their organizations, contributing to the closure of three small clinics in Augusta County last year. How will you advocate for health, wellness, and access to medical care in our district?
A: Healthcare is a basic right. ACA tax credits must be restored and Medicaid cuts rescinded immediately. Augusta Medical Group closed three clinics in the Shenandoah Valley because of the "Big Ugly Bill's" Medicaid cuts, which will strip coverage from more than 300,000 Virginians. Bath Community Hospital is at risk of closure. Winchester Medical Center closed its observation unit because of Ben Cline's Medicaid cuts. Valley Health, which owns the Winchester facility and three other hospitals in Luray, Woodstock and Front Royal, recently farmed out its high-quality emergency care to a corporation backed by a Canadian private equity firm because of those same cuts. Research has shown that when private equity gets involved with emergency care, there is a 13% increase in patient mortality. I will introduce legislation to curtail private equity ownership of our local hospitals. These corporations profit by limiting care for people. I will put the health of our people over profits.
The reason we don't have universal healthcare isn’t because it’s too expensive, it’s because the uber-rich have received trillions in tax breaks at the expense of working people. We chose billionaire tax cuts over expansion of Medicaid, supporting Medicare and keeping Social Security solvent. Reverse those tax cuts, and we can make sure every American has the health coverage they need. Universal healthcare guarantees that everyone will have medical accessibility rather than be at the mercy of private health insurance companies or not have any coverage at all. Such a plan would fix reimbursement rates and allow rural hospitals to thrive rather than close. It’s our surest path to stave off the healthcare deserts Rep. Ben Cline promotes, and which we are now seeing. In the meantime, the ACA tax credits must be restored. Cline's votes will kick more than 31,000 people in the 6th District off their insurance, either by losing ACA subsidies (13,700) or Medicaid (17,300). More than 300,000 Virginians will lose Medicaid after the midterms if we don't do something. I know people whose insurance premiums have gone from $400 a month to $1,600 a month because of the ACA cuts. That's unconscionable.
To summarize: I will work to immediately end billionaire tax giveaways, restore ACA tax credits, rescind Medicaid cuts and curtail private equity ownership of local hospitals.
Context from WMRA:
WMRA previously reported that Bath Community Hospital was identified by a bipartisan state commission as a rural hospital at risk of closure, although the hospital president and CEO says the organization is financially stable. A study conducted by Harvard Medical School and other researchers found that patient deaths rose 13% in the emergency departments of hospitals acquired by private equity firms compared to similar hospitals.
IMMIGRATION
Q: What is your stance on the Trump administration's mass deportation campaign and the methods used to execute it, including traffic stops, the detention of immigrants at court hearings and ICE check-in appointments, and the detention of immigrants who have open immigration cases and no criminal record for indefinite periods of time? Have you spoken with farmers or poultry processors in our district about how these policies have affected their workforce?
A: Many farmers are terrified that their homes will be the next to be illegally raided by masked federal agents. They are angry with the Trump Administration – over a host of government abuses – and Rep. Cline. Federal agents, often working in concert with local law enforcement, cannot be allowed to unconstitutionally detain people who have broken no laws. Immigration enforcement is a necessary part of domestic and international security, but ICE has lost the confidence of the people.
Forty years have passed since the last comprehensive immigration legislation was passed under President Reagan. America must restore and preserve legal pathways for permanent legal status and/or citizenship. A majority of Americans support citizenship for people who have lived, worked and contributed here. Republicans demonize hard-working immigrants and refugees, most of whom arrived through legal channels. Congress should reform the H-2A visa program to make it easier for farmers who need workers year-round, not just seasonally. Many industries rely on immigrant workers, especially in the 6th District, where farms, processing facilities and construction companies are staffed by folks who were not born in the U.S.
We should deport criminals here illegally, but we shouldn't be deporting lawful residents and separating families, especially without due process. Cline voted against a bipartisan bill that would have secured our borders in 2024 when Joe Biden was President because Trump ordered him to oppose it. We can secure our border and provide pathways to citizenship for people living here.
We are a nation of immigrants, and America has long benefitted from the work, talents, experiences and culture of people from other countries who helped build the United States into the greatest democratic and economic force on the planet. Republicans demonize immigrants. That needs to stop. They are God’s children, like the rest of us.
Context from WMRA:
A survey conducted by the Bullfinch Group and National Immigration Forum last year found that 66% of respondents agreed there should be legal pathways for immigrants who are contributing to our communities but present in the U.S. under temporary protections. Cline voted for the "End the Border Catastrophe Act," which bypassed typical House procedures after Rep. Barry Moore (R-Alabama) moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, which then required a two-thirds majority to pass. It failed on a 215-199 vote.
ELECTION INTEGRITY
Q: Who won the 2020 presidential election?
A: Joe Biden won in an Electoral College landslide with 302 electoral votes, and his seven million popular-vote margin over Donald Trump was the biggest victory over a sitting president since Reagan beat Carter in 1980.
Context from WMRA:
The Federal Election Commission and National Archives report that Joseph Biden won the 2020 election with 81,283,501 individual votes and 306 electoral votes; over Donald Trump's 74,223,975 individual votes and 232 electoral votes. The American Presidency Project at UC Santa Barbara reports that in 1980, incumbent Jimmy Carter lost to Ronald Reagan by 8,420,270 votes. The next time a sitting president lost the election was in 1992, when George H. W. Bush lost to Bill Clinton by 5,805,444 votes.
FOREIGN POLICY
Q: What is your stance on the United States' foreign policy with Israel, including our participation in the Iran War and our financial support for Israel throughout the war in Gaza?
A: American taxpayer dollars should not fund weapons that Benjamin Netanyahu is using against innocent civilians. Israel has a right to defend itself in the wake of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack. Netanyahu's response has gone far beyond defense and is more about revenge. The outsized response has made the Middle East situation worse and cost the lives of about 73,000 Palestinians, including tens of thousands of children. Any U.S. military assistance to Israel must be questioned and thoroughly examined by policy makers before going forward. Netanyahu leads Trump around by the nose, and both men have created yet another "Forever War" in the Middle East.
Context from WMRA:
Gaza's Health Ministry said in June that more than 73,000 Palestinians, around half of whom are women and children, have died in the Israel-Hamas war, as PBS previously reported. Their tallies are generally considered reliable by the United Nations and independent experts.