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Trail: Your vote & who decides · step 3 of 4

Tuesday's election (Nov 3, 2026)

By Bedrock Desk

Your vote & who decides

1 · Short version2 · Full story (2 min)3 · Dig deeper (6 sources)

1The short version

Read on the local races. When the Grundy mayor runs unopposed and the council has exactly as many candidates as seats, the outcome is set before the polls open. That's common in small towns, but it also means the real leverage for residents is showing up at council and board meetings, not the ballot box this year. Grundy runs on a $2.05 million town budget for FY2026-27 , and bear problems have returned as a recurring council topic .

Got the gist? Keep going for the full story, or share this with someone who should know.

2The full story

Buchanan voters see these races on the ballot[10][11]:

  • U.S. Senate: Mark R. Warner (D, incumbent) vs. Bert Mizusawa (R).
  • U.S. House, 9th District: H. Morgan Griffith (R, incumbent) vs. Joy A. Powers (D), a Bedford County farmer and small-business owner making her first run. Ballotpedia lists the race as safely Republican[12].
  • Mayor of Grundy: Chris A. Mitchell, unopposed.
  • Grundy Town Council (vote for 3): Rebecca L. Shortridge-Elkins, Patty Marie Street, and M. Wade McGeorge, three candidates for three seats.
The issue in the 9th District race that lands closest to home
Data centers. Griffith opposes a moratorium and says Washington's job is protecting ratepayers: "There should not be a moratorium." Powers backs "a temporary moratorium until we get federal guidelines around these mega corporations." They also split on rural health care (Powers wants it rebuilt for rural areas; Griffith points to maternity deserts) and on whether inflation is easing[9]. In Buchanan, where a company openly pitching power for data centers is now scouting a former high school, that's not an abstract debate.

3Dig deeper: every source

Every bracketed number above links to its source. Here they all are in one place. If one doesn't say what we said, tell us.

  1. www.elections.virginia.gov/casting-a-ballot/candidate-list/november-3-2026-gen-elect-all-o
  2. ballotpedia.org/Buchanan_County,_Virginia,_elections,_2026
  3. ballotpedia.org/Virginia%27s_9th_Congressional_District_election,_2026
  4. www.wdbj7.com/2026/10/27/griffith-powers-outline-differences-data-centers-health-care-pric
  5. virginiamountaineer.com/2026/06/17/grundy-town-council-approves-2-05m-budget/
  6. virginiamountaineer.com/2026/09/16/bear-concerns-return-before-grundy-council-2026-09-17/

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