Editor’s note: The Smoky Mountain News has on several occasions attempted to contact Jennifer Balkcom’s campaign for a profile like this one. On Sept. 17, a campaign staffer texted SMN saying they’d reach out in a week. Despite numerous follow-up phone calls and text messages, the Balkcom campaign failed to respond.
Jamie Ager needed a hat, so he chose the underdog.
When the Democratic congressional candidate and his deputy campaign manager pulled into Pisgah Memorial Stadium’s parking the evening of Oct. 9, he took off his green-and-white “Ager for U.S. Congress” ballcap and sported hat head as he made his way through the bustling crowd until he came upon a stand selling Pisgah Bears gear.
He bought a hat with a black P in the center set against woodland camouflage. Fans may not have thought he was anything but a Bears fan, perhaps a former mill worker with some chickens and cows he raises on some family land in nearby Bethel, were it not for the fact they’ve already seen his face on mailers, television spots, and digital ads.
