He knows how the sausage gets made

Jamie Ager is a fourth-generation farmer at Hickory Nut Gap Farms in Fairview, North Carolina who has spent more than two decades building a regenerative meat business that’s a household name in Western North Carolina. What started as a small farm store selling rib eyes and ground beef has grown into a meat distributorship that supports farmers across the Southeast. 

In July, Ager announced his run for the U.S. House of Representatives, challenging Republican incumbent Chuck Edwards for the NC-11 seat. This North Carolina son is no stranger to politics: His grandfather, Jamie Clarke, served in Congress and the state legislature, and his father John held the same statehouse seat currently occupied by his older brother Eric.