Murphy challenges Griffith in 2026 midterms

First-time candidate Adam Murphy is challenging longtime Republican incumbent Rep. Morgan Griffith for the 9th Congressional District seat in the 2026 election.

The Democratic candidate, a 30-year-old software developer from Roanoke County, recently announced his campaign, which is his first bid for public office.

Griffith has represented the 9th District in the U.S. House of Representatives since he was first elected in 2010. In the 2024 election, he received almost 72.5% of the vote, and he is now seeking an eighth term.

The 9th District covers most of Southwest Virginia, including Carroll County, Grayson County and the City of Galax.

In an interview with the Bristol Herald-Courier newspaper, Murphy said he has historically been a political independent, and distanced himself somewhat from the Democratic establishment.

"Across this country, Americans are feeling abandoned. We all feel like the system is rigged against us, that our voices aren't being heard, and that our needs are being ignored," Murphy said in a statement on his campaign website. "And here in Southwest Virginia, too many of us have felt that frustration, that sense of being overlooked and getting stock replies instead of real answers."

Murphy moved to Virginia from Illinois about two years ago. He works in the reinsurance industry, but before that worked in the service industry. On his website, he said he understands the hardships facing many citizens, having experienced periods without access to health care and losing his home during the 2008 housing crisis.

He said he considers the economy the greatest challenge facing most people in Southwest Virginia, along with the potential for rural hospitals to close due to Medicaid cuts, the rising cost of living, job center closings, stagnant wages, economic exploitation, decaying infrastructure, violations of human and constitutional rights, threats to reproductive health, and foreign wars that draw attention away from domestic needs.

On his website, Murphy lists the issues his campaign is focused on, including Medicare for all; universal parental leave and paid time off for new parents; building infrastructure, including broadband internet, housing and healthcare; helping small businesses increase wages to pay workers fairly; supporting rural hospitals and clinics; protecting the environment and building a clean energy economy; providing first-time homeowners with a $10,000 credit; and protecting individual liberties, such as the 1st and 2nd amendments.

In his interview with the Herald-Courier, Murphy pledged to reject contributions from all super PACs (political action committees) and most corporate donors. He said he would accept support from nonprofits if "considered acceptable," but would return other corporate donations.

The candidate also addressed, without naming Griffith, the opinion often expressed by constituents in the 9th District that the congressman is unresponsive or rarely makes public appearances.

"I believe that every single resident of SWVA deserves to feel represented, to feel heard, and to know that their concerns are being taken seriously," Murphy said on his website. "Never again will a voice in this district go unanswered. Never again will a need be dismissed... I will respond to every correspondence, every concern. And I promise you this: every communication you send will have a direct connection to me."