With just a week until Appalachians make their way to the polls, and early voting happening in many states in the region, the Appalachian midterms are garnering more and more attention. That is especially true in the districts where Pres. Donald Trump has, and continues to, stumped for members of his party.
With a marginal majority of 51 to 49 votes in the Senate, continued control of the chamber is pivotal for the GOP, but the stakes are even higher on the Democratic side, which currently lacks control of any branch of the federal government.
The primary challenge for the Democrats will be to preserve the status quo, which allows for a minimal check on GOP’s agenda. Any seat gains are unlikely, but would be a major boost to the party’s ability to block the Trump administration’s progress toward any number of policy goals.
Before Appalachians make their way to the polls next week, below is a quick guide to the most impactful races in the region.
Here, we focus primarily on races for the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, Appalachian Congressional Districts, highlighting candidates who, if elected, could affect Congress’ math and change the current balance of power.
Alabama
Alabama’s Appalachian Districts are considered reliably Republican and expected to remain in majority under GOP’s control.
U.S. House | Governor | |
GOP | D2–Martha Roby (incumbent)
D3–Mike Rogers (incumbent) D4–Robert Aderholt (incumbent) D5–Mo Brooks (incumbent) D6–Gary Palmer (incumbent) D7– ——- |
Kay Ivey (incumbent) |
DEM | D2–Tabitha Isner
D3–Mallory Hagan D4–Lee Auman D5–Peter Joffrion D6–Danner Kline D7–Terri Sewell (incumbent) |
Walter Maddox |
Georgia
In Georgia’s Appalachian Congressional 3rd, 6th, 7th, 9th, 10th, 11th and 14th districts, all of the GOP candidates on the ballot are incumbents, so any loss in the Republican Party could show how the region’s shifting political ideologies can impact the national stage.
In the Governor’s race, Democrat Stacey Abrams will face the GOP’s Brian Kemp. Kemp, Georgia’s Secretary of State, is facing lawsuits over alleged voter suppression in the state. Abrams could be the first African-American woman elected governor in the history of the United States.
U.S. House | Governor | |
GOP | D3–Drew Ferguson (incumbent)
D6–Karen Handel (incumbent) D7–Rob Woodall (incumbent) D9–Doug Collins (incumbent) D10–Jody Hice (incumbent) D11–Barry Loudermilk (incumbent) D14–Tom Graves (incumbent) |
Brian Kemp |
DEM | D3–Chuck Enderlin
D6–Lucy McBath D7–Carolyn Bourdeaux D9–Josh McCall D10–Tabitha Johnson-Green D11–Flynn Broady Jr. D14–Steven Foster |
Stacey Abrams |
Kentucky
All of the five Appalachian districts in Kentucky are, for the most part, red, but one with a history of occasionally voting blue is the 6th.
There, Amy McGrath, the Democratic candidate who defeated the national party-backed opponent in the primaries, is trying to ride the wave of “outsider” appeal in order to capture some of the Republican votes in the region.
U.S. House | |
GOP | D1–James Comer (incumbent)
D2–Brett Guthrie (incumbent) D4–Thomas Massie (incumbent) D5–Hal Rogers (incumbent) D6–Andy Barr (incumbent) |
DEM | D1–Paul Walker
D2–Hank Linderman D4–Seth Hall D5–Kenneth Stepp D6–Amy McGrath |
Maryland
Maryland is another state in which a crucial Senate general election will take place on November 6. Maryland, however, is considered a safe blue state. The last time the state elected a Republican Senator was 1987.
Maryland’s District 6 primary field was crowded and interesting on the Democratic side. The party’s incumbent, John Delaney, did not run for re-election as he focuses on his bid for the White House in 2020.
Delaney’s decision not to run left the doors open for eight other Democratic candidates, with David Trone taking the nomination.
U.S. Senate | U.S. House | Governor | |
GOP | Tony Campbell | D6–Amie Hoeber | Larry Hogan (incumbent) |
DEM | Ben Cardin (incumbent) | D6–David Trone | Ben Jealous |
Mississippi
Come this November, Mississippi will pick both Senators instead of just one. Besides the scheduled general election race where the GOP incumbent, Sen. Roger Wicker, will fight for reelection, the state will hold a nonpartisan special Senate election, in which voters will pick a replacement for Republican Sen. Thad Cochran, who retired due to health issues earlier this year.
The special election will take the form of nonpartisan blanket primary, which means that the top two candidates from the pool of candidates from all parties, as well as independents, move on to the final race the same month.
U.S. Senate | U.S. House | |
GOP | Roger Wicker (incumbent) | D1–Trent Kelly (incumbent)
D2– ——— D3–Michael Guest |
DEM | David Baria | D1–Randy Wadkins
D2–Bennie Thompson (incumbent) D3–Michael Evans |
New York
The GOP currently hold all three of the New York seats in Congress that lie in Appalachia. The Republican incumbents — John Faso in District 19, Claudia Tenney in District 22 and Tom Reed in District 23 — all ran unopposed in the primaries.
On the Senate side in New York, current Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand will face the GOP’s Chele Farley, who ran unopposed in the primary. Farley is a New York Republican operative with background in the finance industry with Wall Street giants like Goldman Sachs.
Although not an Appalachian district, the primary in which Democratic incumbent Joseph Crowley lost the primary to 28-year-old newcomer Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez pointed to the trend of new kind of candidate coming into play on the Democratic side. Cortez is an absolute outsider, who focused her campaign on her local community and managed an upset. Cortez’s district is reliably Democratic, giving her a slight edge in the race, but it will be interesting to see if a similar type of candidates will be successful in rural and more conservative parts of Appalachian states.
Andrew Cuomo is looking to secure his third term as governor in New York. His opponent, Marcus Molinari, is a former New York Assembly member and the Dutchess County Executive.
U.S. Senate | U.S. House | Governor | |
GOP | Chele Farley | D19–John Faso (incumbent)
D22–Claudia Tenney (incumbent) D23–Tom Reed (incumbent) |
Marcus Molinaro |
DEM | Kirsten Gillibrand (incumbent) | D19–Antonio Delgado
D22–Anthony Brindisi D23–Tracy Mitrano |
Andrew Cuomo |
North Carolina
With a state divided between the two major parties, the Appalachian districts in North Carolina might be crucial for the Democratic attempts to regain the control of the U.S. House of the Representatives.
What makes the races there particularly interesting is the possibility of “last minute” redrawing of the districts, ordered by the U.S. District court there, which, according to various political prognosticators, could support Democratic chances of winning more seats in the state.
U.S. House | |
GOP | D5–Virginia Foxx (incumbent)
D10–Patrick McHenry (incumbent) D11–Mark Meadows (incumbent) D13–Ted Budd (incumbent) |
DEM | D5–Denise Adams
D10–David Wilson Brown D11–Phillip Price D13–Kathy Manning |
Ohio
Five out of the six Appalachian Ohio Congressional Districts are currently in the hands of the GOP. Ohio will be another battleground crucial for the Democrats to regain a majority in the House.
The task might be difficult as Ohio is a reliably red state when it comes to Congressional elections.
Democrats will be also defending their Senate seat, currently occupied by Sherrod Brown.
U.S. Senate | U.S. House | Governor | |
GOP | Jim Renacci | D2–Brad Wenstrup (incumbent)
D6–Bill Johnson (incumbent) D7–Bob Gibbs (incumbent) D13–Christopher DePizzo D14–David Joyce (incumbent) D15–Steve Stivers (incumbent) |
Mike DeWine |
DEM | Sherrod Brown (incumbent) | D2–Jill Schiller
D6–Shawna Roberts D7–Ken Harbaugh D13–Tim Ryan (incumbent) D14–Betsy Rader D15–Rick Neal |
Richard Cordray |
Pennsylvania
Primaries in Pennsylvania took place after highly controversial Supreme Court ruling in January of this year that ordered a redrawing of the state’s 18 Congressional Districts.
The new districts, previously shaped by Republican gerrymandering efforts, were intended to result in more balanced races. (Here’s the New York Times detailed map of the new districts)
Democrats’ hopes were somewhat restored following a blow during the March special elections in Pennsylvania’s 17th District, where Democrat Conor Lamb defeated Rick Saccone.
Republican candidate to the U.S. Senate, Lou Barletta, was endorsed early on by the President Trump, as well as many of his fellow Republicans running for Congress in the state, although not all of the GOP candidates are latching on to the president’s coattails in the hopes of a win.
U.S. Senate | U.S. House | Governor | |
GOP | Lou Barletta | D7–Marty Nothstein
D8–John Chrin D9–Dan Meuser D10– Scott Perry (incumbent) D12–Tom Marino (incumbent) D13–John Joyce D14–Guy Reschenthaler D15–Glen Thompson (incumbent) D16–Mike Kelly (incumbent) D17–Keith Rothfus (incumbent) D18– ——– |
Scott Wagner |
DEM | Bob Casey Jr. (incumbent) | D7–Susan Wild
D8–Matt Cartwright (incumbent) D9–Denny Wolff D10–George Scott D12–Marc Friedenberg D13–Brent Ottaway D14–Bibiana Boerio D15–Susan Boser D16–Ronald DiNicola D17–Conor Lamb (incumbent 18th District) D18–Michael Doyle (incumbent) |
Tom Wolf (incumbent) |
South Carolina
The race for Congress in the South Carolina first has been deemed a battleground race. There, state Republican Rep. Katie Arrington faces off against attorney and engineer Joe Cunningham. Arrington beat incumbent Rep. Mark Sanford in the primary in the district that is solidly Republican, and political pundits predict the seat will stay red in the general.
In the governor’s race, current Gov. Henry McMaster took office in 2017 after Niki Haley’s resignation to join the Trump administration. The solidly red state has voted for Republican presidential candidates in the past five races and the executive office there is expected to remain in the hands of the GOP.
U.S. House | Governor | |
GOP | D1–Katie Arrington
D2–Joe Wilson (incumbent) D3–Jeff Duncan (incumbent) |
Henry McMaster (incumbent) |
DEM | D1–Joe Cunningham
D2–Sean Carrigan D3–Mary Geren |
James Smith |
Tennessee
Tennessee’s Congressional Districts 1, 2, 3 and 7 are comprised entirely of Appalachian counties. Districts 4 and 6 fall partially in the region.
All of the six Appalachian Congressional Districts in Tennessee are in firm Republican grip, but in the case of Districts 2, 6 and 7, GOP incumbents decided not to seek reelection, creating more competitive races. That includes Marsha Blackburn, who currently represents the 7th.
Blackburn has instead decided to enter the race for U.S. Senate, where she’s taking on Democrat Phil Bredesen. That Senate seat is currently held by Republican Bob Corker, who announced earlier this year that he would not be seeking reelection. It will be one of the most closely watched in the nation come November, as Democrats seek an upset in traditionally Republican stronghold states.
The governor’s race will be another one of the closely anticipated attempts to undermine the Republican supremacy in Tennessee. According to Vox, the gubernatorial race has already cost over $50 million.
Democrats picked former Nashville Mayor Karl Dean. He will face off with Bill Lee, a businessman from south of Nashville.
U.S. Senate | U.S. House | Governor | |
GOP | Marsha Blackburn | D1–Phil Roe (incumbent)
D2–Tim Burchett D3–Charles J. Fleischmann (incumbent) D4–Scott DesJarlais (incumbent) D6–John Rose D7–Mark Green |
Bill Lee |
DEM | Phil Bredesen | D1–Marty Olsen
D2–Renee Hoyos D3–Danielle Mitchell D4–Maria Phillips D6–Dawn Barlow D7–Justin Kanew |
Karl Dean |
Virginia
Democratic incumbent, and Hillary Clinton’s presidential running mate in 2016, Sen. Tim Kaine secured his spot on the U.S. Senate ballot, running uncontested in the primaries, while GOP voters picked Corey Stewart, a Prince William County supervisor as their candidate.
Virginia went for Clinton in the previous presidential rave, and there is currently only one GOP incumbent among the three Appalachian Congressional Districts in the state.
U.S. Senate | U.S. House | |
GOP | Corey Stewart | D5–Denver Riggleman
D6–Ben Cline D9–Morgan Griffith (incumbent) |
DEM | Tim Kaine (incumbent) | D5–Leslie Cockburn
D6–Jennifer Lewis D9–Anthony Flaccavento |
West Virginia
West Virginia’s Senate race is one of the most closely watched this midterms season. The most “Republican” Democrat in the Senate, Joe Manchin, is walking a thin line of representing a party that was vocally rejected by the voters in 2016.
Manchin will face the current WV’s General Attorney, Patrick Morrisey, who enjoys full support and endorsement of President Trump. Trump is making yet another stop in the state this week to stump for Morrisey.
Another closely watched race is for the U.S. House seat from the 3rd District. Richard Ojeda, a Democrat and an army veteran who says he voted for President Trump, has become a champion of striking teachers and union workers across his District and the state. An unlikely Democratic candidate, certainly an outsider, is now poised to become a new kind of Democrat, harking back to some of the populist traditions, one with real chances even in deeply red states.
U.S. Senate | U.S. House | |
GOP | Patrick Morrisey | D1–David McKinley (incumbent)
D2–Alexander Mooney (incumbent) D3–Carol Miller |
DEM | Joe Manchin III (incumbent) | D1–Kendra Fershee
D2–Talley Sergent D3–Richard Ojeda |