Beth Macy never expected to trade journalism for politics. But when protesters outside U.S. Rep. Ben Cline’s Roanoke office began urging her to challenge the Republican incumbent from Botetourt County, she found herself reconsidering her plans for the future. 

“I’m like, no, I’m a journalist,” Macy recalled in a recent phone interview with The Mercury. “I want to write another book or two, become a master gardener and retire. I have a really nice life.” 

But the author of “Dopesick,” whose reporting on the opioid epidemic inspired an award-winning television series, eventually changed her mind. 

Now she is the Democratic nominee running against Cline in Virginia’s 6th Congressional District, hoping to turn a career spent documenting addiction, poverty and economic hardship into a seat in Congress. 

Cline, a four-term incumbent and former state lawmaker, was unavailable for an interview for this story. He is running in a district that long favored Republicans, although national Democrats have added the race to their list of targets.  

For Macy, the move into politics followed years of reporting and a more recent turn toward advocacy. 

She joined activists pressing the U.S. Justice Department and a bankruptcy court to hold members of the Sackler family, the former owners of OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma, accountable for their role in the opioid crisis. 

A separate, yearslong legal battle resulted in a $7.4 billion national settlement that took effect in May, ending the Sacklers’ ownership of Purdue and permanently barring them from selling opioids in the United States. Virginia, which helped negotiate the agreement, stands to receive up to $103.8 million over 15 years for addiction prevention, treatment and recovery programs. 

After President Donald Trump won reelection nearly two years ago, Macy began attending protests outside Cline’s office. She initially resisted calls to run, but said passage of Trump’s sweeping tax and spending law, which he dubbed the One Big Beautiful Bill, made her reconsider. 

“My husband and I just looked at each other, and we’re like, let’s just take him down,” she said. 

Macy feared the law’s Medicaid changes would make addiction treatment harder to obtain. Cline voted for the legislation, which Republicans have defended as a way to extend tax cuts and reduce federal spending. 

From the newsroom to the campaign trail

Macy grew up in Urbana, Ohio, in a family that struggled to make ends meet. She has written about receiving utility shutoff notices and food assistance, and credits a federal Pell Grant with helping her attend college. 

“I came from nothing,” she said. “And every day I wake up and I go, ‘Damn, this is me.’”

She spent 25 years at the Roanoke Times before becoming a best-selling author. Her first book, “Factory Man,” followed a Virginia furniture maker fighting to preserve American manufacturing jobs. “Truevine” told the story of two Black brothers and their mother in Jim Crow-era Virginia. 

“Dopesick” examined the opioid epidemic, while “Raising Lazarus” focused on efforts to address it. Macy’s latest book, “Paper Girl,” is a memoir about her upbringing. 

Macy said the people she met during those years of reporting still shape how she thinks about public policy. She carries a reporter’s notebook on the campaign trail, writing down what voters tell her about their lives.

“I think Congress could use an investigative journalist right now,” she said. 

Macy’s healthcare agenda includes restoring enhanced Affordable Care Act premium subsidies and reversing Medicaid changes in Trump’s spending law, which she calls the “One Ugly Bill.” She supports Medicare for All but said her immediate priority would be protecting existing coverage. 

Macy also wants to expand addiction treatment in prisons and improve access to care for people leaving incarceration.

Her interest in veterans’ care is personal, she said. Her father served in World War II and never received treatment for post-traumatic stress after returning home. 

On energy policy, Macy has called for a moratorium on data center development while federal officials craft rules addressing land use, water consumption and jobs. She argues the industry is expanding too quickly and communities need more protection. 

A steep climb in the 6th

Virginia’s 6th District follows the Interstate 81 corridor from the northern Shenandoah Valley to Roanoke. Cline won reelection in 2024 with 63% of the vote, defeating Democrat Ken Mitchell by roughly 28 percentage points. 

However, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee recently put the district “in play,” although Cline adviser Tim Murtaugh dismissed the designation as an attempt to manufacture enthusiasm. 

Independent election analysts remain skeptical of Democrats’ changes. The Cook Political Report rates the race solidly Republican, while the University of Virginia’s Sabato’s Crystal Ball classifies it as safe Republican. 

Both ratings are less competitive than those for the neighboring 5th District, where analysts have moved the contest toward Democrats. 

Macy argues her fundraising and conversations with voters show she can make the race competitive. She said internal campaign polling has her gaining on Cline, although those results have not been independently verified. 

“I tell people, flat out, that we will not win this race unless we reach out to the middle,” she said. 

Through Sept. 30, Macy has raised about $2.6 million, compared with about $1.9 million for Cline, according to the nonpartisan Virginia Public Access Project. 

Her campaign said it raised more than $1 million between July and September, combining two federal spending reporting periods, and does not accept corporate PAC donations. 

More recent Federal Election Commission records show Macy had raised about $2.93 million through Oct. 14. Figures compiled by Ballotpedia put Cline’s receipts at approximately $1.91 million through the same date. 

Cline, however, had more money left to spend, with about $527,000 cash on hand compared to Macy’s $363,000. 

David Richards, a political science professor at the University of Lynchburg, said Macy’s fundraising, name recognition and support from energized Democrats have made the race more competitive than Cline’s previous contests. 

Still, Richards said he expects Cline to win, although the margin could narrow to the low single digits. The district’s Republican electorate, he said, remains a substantial obstacle for Macy. 

“Money matters, but money doesn’t vote,” Richards said. 

He said dissatisfaction with Trump, Congress and the economy could hurt Cline, but Macy would likely need a significant number of Republicans to break ranks or stay home to win.