From Staff Reports

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — While candidates for North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District raised hundreds of thousands of dollars in 2025’s third quarter, Jamie Ager, a Buncombe County Democrat, raised the most money — more than $340,000, according to quarterly fundraising reports campaigns filed with the Federal Election Commission.

The third quarter covered July through September. 

In sharp contrast, U.S. Rep. Chuck Edwards, R-Flat Rock, seeking his third term in office, raised less than $100,000 during the third quarter, his campaign committee’s FEC filing stated.

Ager, 47, the chief executive officer of Fairview’s Hickory Nut Gap Farm, is its cofounder. (The farm raises beef, pork and poultry, as well as growing fruit, and features a farm store.) 

After announcing his run for office in July, Ager tallied more than 4,500 individual contributions, an Oct. 14 news release from his campaign noted. 

Ager spent more than $112,000 last quarter, with cash on hand totaling more than $227,000, his filing stated.  

“This campaign is about bringing people together from across Western North Carolina around our shared values, and our strong start is proof of our momentum,” Ager stated in his campaign’s news release.

A fourth-generation farmer, Ager previously told the the Asheville Citizen Times that he hopes to deliver “working-class roots” to the Democratic Party, the ACT noted.

In his July 31 announcement video, Ager said, “Rising costs hurt our businesses and our families, Medicaid insures my neighbors and my friends and now it’s being ripped away, and the weather that batters us is only getting worse. Helping the rich get richer on the backs of hardworking Americans isn’t working, and in my humble opinion, it doesn’t have to be this way.”

Edwards, 65, raised $98,608, his campaign’s filing noted, with more than $36,000 collected from political committees, such as the Duke Energy Corp. PAC and the Sierra Nevada Co. PAC. 

Edwards’ third-quarter fundraising total is about $7,000 more than he collected in the previous quarter. He has more than $205,000 cash on hand, Edwards’ filing noted.

Adam Smith, a former Green Beret vying with Edwards in the March 2026 Republican primary, raised nearly $30,000 after announcing his run in September — just 10 days before the third-quarter reporting period ended. 

After Tropical Storm Helene hit the area, Smith, 42, organized Savage Freedoms Relief Operations, which provided medical aid, food, water and other supplies to storm survivors.

Also, Dr. Richard Hudspeth, a Buncombe County Democrat vying for Edwards’ seat in Congress, raised more than $88,000 during the third quarter, his filing stated. 

Hudspeth, 63, who announced his run in September, is the former CEO of Blue Ridge Health, a federally qualified health center based in Henderson County.

“These contributions make clear that people across Western North Carolina are ready for new leadership,” Hudspeth said in an Oct. 14 campaign news release. “I am deeply grateful for the faith so many people in our region have put in my ability to lead this change.”

Zelda Briarwood, a Haywood County Democrat, raised more than $13,000, similar to what her campaign brought in the previous quarter, her FEC filings noted. 

Chris Harjes, a Buncombe Democrat who told the ACT in September he paused his campaign since Ager “has run away with the primary,” raised just under $3,000 during the third quarter. 

Jacob Lawrence, 26, another Democrat, reported no contributions.

Retired Air Force colonel-turned author and podcaster Moe Davis, 67, “dropped out of the race in August and later filed paperwork with to FEC to terminate his campaign committee,” the ACT noted. “Davis raised nearly $30,000 during the third quarter, according to the termination report filed with the FEC. Most of that money came in before he announced he was exiting the race and was used to cover campaign-related expenses, according to filings.”