A blistering letter signed by four Democratic candidates for Congress in North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District is raising questions about party neutrality in primaries, calling the party’s decision to include only one congressional candidate — Jamie Ager — as the keynote speaker at the NC-11 Democratic gala “deeply unfair” and fundamentally at odds with core party values.

On a fourth-generation family farm nestled in the hills just outside of Fairview, Jamie Ager spent his childhood watching the seasons change, the animals grow and the land evolve with the rhythms of life in the mountains. Today, that land is not only the site of a thriving regenerative agriculture business, but also the launching pad for a campaign that could reshape North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District.