By Kylie Marsh
Kylie.marsh@triangletribune.com
DURHAM – Durham County Commissioner Nida Allam decided against a recount in her tight race with incumbent Valerie Foushee for North Carolina’s 4th Congressional District.
Foushee’s margin of victory is 1%, or 1,202 votes.
“Tomorrow, we get back to work,” Allam said to supporters just after Tuesday night at the Fruit in Durham. “We’ve got a little bit longer to hang on, but I’m confident that our hard work will pay off.”
But late Wednesday night, Allam conceded the race to Foushee.
“Though these were not the results we hoped for, I am proud of the movement we have built, the voices we have lifted up and the journey we have ahead,” Allam said in a statement.
District 4 includes portions of Wake and Chatham counties, and all of Orange and Durham counties. While Allam won Durham and Wake, Chatham and Orange voted for Foushee.
This is the second time the two have faced each other; Foushee beat Allam in 2022. Foushee is likely to be the district’s representative, as it is deep blue.
While both candidates campaigned on fighting for Medicare for all, a Green New Deal and opposing the Trump administration, Allam is left of Foushee, representing a more progressive attitude. Most visibly, Allam was endorsed by Vermont progressive Senator Bernie Sanders.
Foushee received extensive endorsements from other Democrats, causing her to be labeled as “establishment” and “status quo.” The race broke state records as the most expensive Democratic primary, reaching over $4 million in donations.
Supporters at the Fruit told The Tribune their vote was motivated by Allam’s rejection of corporate funding. Foushee’s campaign dwarfed Allam’s, receiving donations from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and PACs associated with artificial intelligence companies like Anthropic, which recently faced backlash due to privacy concerns surrounding mass surveillance.
“I think one thing that’s really wrong in our political system right now is where people get the money, and where that money is coming from,” Elizabeth Hoane said. “I’m lucky enough to know Nida Allam personally, and I see her when we’re out in the streets protesting and demanding change; she’s there with us.”
Many Triangle Democrats didn’t have a problem with Foushee’s record and were hesitant to switch leaders in Congress. “I like Nida, personally,” said Melissa McCullough of Chapel Hill. “But Valerie Foushee has credibility amongst her peers, good committee assignments … and she brings home federal dollars. Now is not the time to send in someone who has to start from scratch.”
Muhammad Shahzad is a North Carolina State professor of computer science. He supports Allam because she is new.
“The status quo has been going on for a very long time, so I would like to see some new, more energetic faces in the House,” he told The Tribune.
Many of the ads that voters in the 4th District saw weren’t funded by the two candidates. Initially, much of that spending came in support of Allam.
A group called “American Priorities” spent at least $500,000 on ads promoting Allam and attacking Foushee. The disclosure records show a lot of its money is coming from out-of-state tech executives like Omer Hasan. He also donated a lot to a PAC supporting Zohran Mamdani’s campaign for mayor of New York.
Allam thanked supporters from organizations like Leaders We Deserve, Sunrise Movement, The N.C. AFL-CIO, the Indian American Impact Fund, The Working Families Party, No Dem Left Behind and College Democrats of America.
“We will keep exercising our right to dream,” she said, “and we will bring home a victory for the working families of North Carolina in the days ahead.”
WUNC contributed to this article.
