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A new video ad by a Democratic super political action committee attacks Republican state Rep. Jennifer Balkcom, who is running for a seat representing Western North Carolina in Congress, and accuses her of acting in the interest of large energy and utility companies and data centers.
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Save Democracy PAC’s ad features video footage of people frustrated with their energy bills. The ad claims that Balkcom, who will face Democratic nominee Jamie Ager in November, has taken campaign contributions from Duke Energy and voted in ways that cut costs for data centers.
Balkcom, of Hendersonville, replaced GOP U.S. Rep. Chuck Edwards on the ballot after a congressional ethics committee found evidence that Edwards had sexually harassed two female staff members, The News & Observer previously reported. The U.S. House censured Edwards earlier this month.
Balkcom will face Democratic nominee Jamie Ager in November.
The Save Democracy PAC said the ad is supported by a “$370,000 buy running across North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District.” It makes three claims about Balkcom’s record. The N&O evaluated them.
This claim refers to Duke Energy’s campaign contributions to Balkcom. Since 2022, during her runs for the state House seat, she reported more than $5,000 in contributions from the Duke Energy Corp. PAC, campaign finance documents show.
This past January, the Duke Energy Corp. PAC contributed $2,000 to Balkcom’s campaign, according to an online campaign finance report.
She also received $2,000 in 2024, $1,000 in 2023 and $500 in 2022 from the same PAC, according to online reports.
Save Democracy PAC wrote in a statement that Balkcom has a “record of cashing Duke Energy’s checks.”
In a statement, Sophie Mestas, a PAC spokesperson, said “Balkcom’s record is clear: when wealthy special interests need something, she delivers and leaves her own constituents to pick up the tab.”
Balkcom has received nearly $50,000 total in contributions this election cycle, according to state online campaign finance records.
Federal campaign finance data does not show Ager receiving campaign contributions from the same PAC for the 2026 election.
Grayson Barnette, Ager’s campaign manager, said Ager “does not take corporate PAC money, nor does he take marching orders from Duke Energy or political insiders.”
This claim refers to Balkcom’s vote to advance a bill that would let Duke Energy charge ratepayers up front for power plants that have not been built or brought on line yet, and would free the utility from having to meet a state carbon goal set for 2030, The N&O previously reported.
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In 2025, Balkcom voted for Senate Bill 266, which passed both chambers of the state legislature.
Gov. Josh Stein, a Democrat, then vetoed the bill. He said the provision “not only makes everyone’s utility bills more expensive, but it also shifts the cost of electricity from large industrial users onto the backs of regular people,” The N&O previously reported.
The General Assembly later overrode Stein’s veto. Balkcom again voted to advance the bill to law.
Mestas said Balkcom is now “asking the same families she charged more to send her to Congress.”
This claim refers to North Carolina’s sales-and-use tax exemptions for data centers.
Data center operators need to invest at least $75 million into the site, provide full-time healthcare for employees and meet standards for wages by county to qualify for the tax incentives, The N&O previously reported.
Those tax breaks are not new. Balkcom voted this summer to pass the state budget, which preserved them. But what the ad doesn’t say is that same budget bill, which Stein signed in July, did repeal a sales tax exemption for electricity purchased by data centers that were considered eligible.
The General Assembly estimated the provision will save the state more than $21 million, The N&O previously reported.
Courtney Taylor, Balkcom’s campaign manager, told The N&O that the ad “is as false and phony as D.C. Democrat Jamie Ager’s carefully curated campaign persona.”
Barnette didn’t address the ad directly, but told The N&O that Ager “will be an independent voice that puts the needs of Western North Carolina over corporate interests.”
Early voting for the 2026 general election starts Oct. 15 and ends at 3 p.m. Oct. 31. Election Day is Nov. 3.
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