A political ad hitting Democratic congressional candidate Jamie Ager over his donor list and his ties to Pete Buttigieg is drawing scrutiny for stretching the facts. The ad, funded by the No Going Back PAC, claims Ager is bankrolled by Wall Street billionaires and the George Soros family while suggesting he shares Buttigieg's views on cutting the prison population and funding healthcare for undocumented immigrants. Ager's campaign says that's not an accurate picture of where his money comes from or what he actually believes.
According to the News & Observer, the No Going Back PAC's ad accuses Ager of receiving campaign contributions from wealthy people and campaigning alongside Buttigieg, the former U.S. Secretary of Transportation. The ad specifically claims Ager is “bankrolled by Wall Street billionaires” and the “George Soros family.” Federal campaign records cited in the fact check do show some high-profile names on Ager's donor rolls, but the picture is more complicated than the ad lets on.
Those records show Eric Knight, a senior trader at Jane Street, gave $3,500 to Ager's primary campaign and another $3,500 to his general election campaign — the maximum an individual donor can contribute to each contest under federal rules. Kathryn Murdoch and James Murdoch, the son of former Fox Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch, each contributed $3,500 to Ager's campaign as well. Jennifer Allan Soros and Jonathan Soros, the son of George Soros, each gave $3,500 to Ager's primary campaign, and James McClave, an early investor in Anthropic, contributed $3,500 to the general election effort.
Campaign Says Big Names Don't Tell the Whole Story
Despite those high-dollar names, Ager's fundraising overwhelmingly comes from small, local donors rather than coastal elites. Per Asheville Watchdog, Ager had raised more than $3 million since launching his campaign, with roughly 90% of that total — about $2.8 million — coming from more than 7,000 individual donations. As of the June 30 report, 3,030 of those donors were North Carolina residents who gave an average of $100, while 1,111 donors from other states gave an average of $500. About 82% of the money from individual donors came from people living inside the district.
The same report notes Ager refused corporate PAC money but did accept contributions from labor groups and PACs supporting Democratic and mainstream causes. The Hendersonville Lightning previously reported that Jane Street employees were among Ager's top donors in the first quarter of 2026, when his campaign raised more than $950,000. That total put Ager ahead of recent district predecessors: 2022 candidate Jasmine Beach-Ferrara raised $2.32 million for her run, and 2024 candidate Caleb Rudow raised $645,960, the Watchdog's reporting shows.
Ager's fundraising also dwarfs that of Republican incumbent Chuck Edwards, who had raised $638,729 for the election cycle with $484,287 cash on hand through February 11, according to FEC records cited by the Hendersonville Lightning. Ager's campaign brought in more than $950,000 from over 5,600 donors in the first quarter of 2026 alone, pushing his total past $1.6 million raised with more than $1 million cash on hand as of April 11.
The Buttigieg Connection, and What the Ad Leaves Out
Buttigieg did campaign for Ager in Western North Carolina, endorsing him and speaking at a rally. WLOS reported that Buttigieg spoke at an Ager rally in Fairview on May 18. But the No Going Back PAC's ad goes further, claiming Ager was campaigning alongside someone who wants to release dangerous criminals and give undocumented immigrants taxpayer-funded healthcare — without showing that Ager himself holds those positions.
The Appeal reported in 2019 that Buttigieg said he hoped to cut the U.S. incarcerated population in half and federally decriminalize drug possession. The Hill reported that Buttigieg said a federal insurance program covering undocumented immigrants would not significantly add to the deficit, arguing the country does no favors by leaving 11 million undocumented people unable to access healthcare. But as the News & Observer's fact check points out, the Appeal article never mentions Ager, and the ad offers no evidence that Ager shares Buttigieg's stated goal on incarceration.
Ager's Campaign Pushes Back
Ager campaign manager Grayson Barnette directly disputed the ad's core claims. Barnette said Ager does not believe undocumented immigrants should receive taxpayer-funded healthcare and does not support reducing the prison population by 50%. Instead, Barnette said Ager is focused on keeping communities safe and ensuring families have access to good rural healthcare, and that he's willing to work with Republicans, Democrats or independents to get things done.
Barnette also said the campaign is funded by hardworking North Carolinians who are sick and tired of being left behind by D.C. politics. Ager, who has never held elected office, faces Republican Jennifer Balkcom of Hendersonville in the race; her campaign was not involved in the No Going Back PAC's ad. The No Going Back PAC's ad has also focused attention on Ager's fundraising.
With early voting set to begin October 15 and run through October 31, and the general election scheduled for November 3, the ad's claims are likely to keep circulating in Western North Carolina's closely watched congressional race.
