ROANOKE, Va. – Now that the state supreme court has set aside the results of the recent election, the question is what happens next.
In a key race for congress, we are likely to see a contest between the Incumbent Ben Cline and best-selling author Beth Macy.
The next question -- how are Macy’s chances?
A steady downpour in Roanoke outside Congressman Ben Cline’s office did not dissuade democrat Beth Macy’s supporters. Several dozen stood under umbrellas and ponchos as Macy addressed the crowd.
“Look, I know it’s been a rough couple of weeks. The decision on Friday to overturn the will of the voters, that was really hard for most of us. Really hard,” Macy told her supporters.
Redistricting is now firmly planted in the mind of Macy, the clear frontrunner to take on the incumbent Ben Cline in November’s election. She must still win the democratic primary on August 4 against three other announced candidates, but most consider her the one with the best chance to win the nomination and to beat Cline.
“We’re fed up with what’s going on in the country and we’re going to stop it, so we’re going to do that in part by getting Beth Macy elected,” said Richard Gooding, a Macy supporter.
“She has talked to everyone. And I think she will do something about this corrupt administration,” said Amanda Dressler.
And Macy herself, tells 10 News she is ready to take on the Republican leaning district as it is.
“The voters won by three points,” she said in reference to the recent referendum on redistricting. “But the court decided that it wasn’t done properly. So, we have to respect the decision of the court.”
Despite the enthusiasm by hard-liners, pundits like Chapman Rackaway, Chair of the Political Science Department at Radford University, say she will have an uphill battle against Cline.
“Basically, the only things that she has going for her are the national political headwinds. And that name-recognition, everything else is stacked in Cline’s favor,” Rackaway said.
“My chances could be better, but, you know, things are changing. I was doing an event in Ruby Red Vinton not long ago, and people came, and they said, some of our neighbors are taking their Trump stickers off their car,” Macy said in an interview with 10 News.
The sixth district is so Republican that voters went heavily for Winson Earl Sears in the most recent Gubernatorial Race -- when few others did. It shows just how safe Cline’s seat can be.
“She has a district that has not gone Democratic in, I believe, 36 years,” Rackaway said.
And yet, Macy is prepared to put everything into it.
“I have never backed down, even though I’ve been underestimated my whole life. I have continued to listen to the people of this region and I’m going to take your voices to Washington,” Macy told supporters.