North Carolina’s Appalachian Representatives

Virginia Foxx (NC-5)

Representing northwestern North Carolina, Congresswoman Foxx was elected to the House after serving 10 years in the state Senate. She is a conservative and advocates reducing the size of government wherever possible. Last year, she voted for H.R. 3409, a bundle of coal-friendly bills which Foxx wrote would “stop the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from imposing a liberal cap-and-tax agenda on the American people through the auspices of the Clean Air Act.”
District Specs: 18% poverty rate, 39.6% rural, Education level: 25.1% college, 83.9% high school

Patrick McHenry (NC-10)

When he first ran for the North Carolina House of Representatives, McHenry was still a junior in college. As a federal representative, he has co-sponsored legislation to expand the Blue Ridge Parkway but frequently votes against environmental protections. In 2011, McHenry voted to prohibit the Endangered Species Act from considering the impact of climate change on plants, fish and other wildlife. In the 2012 election, McHenry won re-election to a fifth term, receiving 73 percent of the vote in his district.
District Specs: 17% poverty rate, 36.1% rural, Education level: 23.4% college, 84.1% high school

Mark Meadows (NC-11)

Freshman Mark Meadows represents most of Western North Carolina, though the redistricted 11th longer includes the large city of Asheville. Meadows is a conservative businessman who advocates reducing the size of government. He has criticized regulations targeted at mountaintop removal coal mining and has said he supports improved use of national forests for timber harvesting and recreation.”
District Specs: 18% poverty rate, 55.5% rural, Education level: 21.4% college, 82.9% high school