Caitlin Barker

Ahead of the 2026 general election, Virginia’s public media stations — VPM, WAMU, WHRO, WMRA and WVTF — asked candidates for US Congress a series of questions about policy stances, how they’d prioritize their district’s needs in Washington, DC, and their opinions as Virginians on the constitutional amendment referendums. Campaigns were provided a deadline and the opportunity to provide clarification, as needed.

Two natural gas pipeline projects in Virginia and North Carolina put a lot at stake. Advocates say the biggest concern is availability of clean drinking water. “Clean water is a bipartisan issue,” says Alice Broderick, Associate Director of Communications at American Rivers.

(FRANKLIN COUNTY, Va.) — First elected in 2010, incumbent Morgan Griffith won his seat in the U.S. House for Virginia’s Ninth Congressional District for the eighth time, against Democrat Karen Baker, as reported by the Associated Press. At nearly 80% of votes counted, Griffith acquired 73.6% of votes, victorious in every county with the exception of Martinsville City. Virginia’s Ninth Congressional District, more commonly referred to as Southwest Virginia, consists of 23 countries and five cities.