13 candidates for the 13th: New Triangle congressional district is a wild card

North Carolina’s 13th Congressional District—the state’s newest, added after the 2020 Census and created in a contested redistricting process—includes Johnston County and parts of Wake, Wayne and Harnett counties. It’s split between urban and rural, Triangle and Sandhills, and, of course, Democrats and Republicans.

It’s a swing district. According to data from the 2020 election, the district would have voted for Democrat Joe Biden, but only by a couple percentage points. It’s the most politically competitive district in the state. An open congressional seat always attracts a lot of candidates, but an open swing seat draws even more, including some familiar faces and a lot of political newcomers.

Here’s a breakdown of the 13 candidates running in the 13th district.

A total of eight Republicans are running for the nomination in the May 17 primary. Fundraising and advertising vary widely among the candidates. An endorsement for one candidate by former president Donald Trump—and some pushback from party establishment— makes it even more difficult to predict who’ll come out on top, but it’s likely to be a political newcomer.

Hines says he’s lived most of his life in this state. He currently lives in the Triad, but he says he plans to relocate to Fuquay-Varina. He concedes he doesn’t have much support from the establishment, but says he has plenty of support in the business community.

“There are good-ol’-boy systems in North Carolina that feel very, very annoyed that their system that they've protected—they want to basically handpick a successor—is being infiltrated right now by an outsider that wants to represent the voters’ interest,” Hines told WRAL News. “The reality is that we're talking to voters every single day, our message is resonating, and we feel extremely comfortable with where we are.”

Another leading candidate, Kelly Daughtry, is also a political newcomer. She practices law in Johnston County with her father, longtime Republican state lawmaker Leo Daughtry. She declined to be interviewed for this article, but has spent heavily on TV ads emphasizing her conservative credentials while bashing the Biden administration.

A third political newcomer, Kent Keirsey, is also spending significant money on TV ads. He’s a military veteran and entrepreneur who lives in Chapel Hill, but he notes that he’s practically next door to the district and grew up at Fort Bragg in a military family.

Keirsey says his life experience in the military and the business world is what sets him apart from the field.

“I’m only doing this out of service, he said in an interview. “I'm not doing this for a career. There's some folks in the race that want to start their big career in politics. I don't think we need more career politicians. I think we need folks that have, you know, done tough things in the real world.”

Another high-profile candidate is former U.S. Rep. Renee Ellmers. She served six years in the U.S. House in the past decade, representing much of the area now included in the new 13th district, before being double-bunked with former U.S. Rep. George Holding, who beat her in the 2016 Republican primary.

Ellmers says she’s the only proven Republican candidate who actually lives in the district.

“I'm running on my record,” she said. “I'm running on the fact that I've represented these folks in the past. And I'm, again, just ready to go back on day one. I don't need a learning curve. I don't need to find my way around. I can get right to work.”

The other candidates on the Republican ballot are DeVan Barbour of Benson, Chad Slotta from Holly Springs, Jessica Morel of Fayetteville, and Kevin Alan Wolff from Apex.

Of the five Democratic candidates vying for the nomination, the two most familiar names recently served in the state legislature together: state Sen. Wiley Nickel and former state Sen. Sam Searcy.

Nickel, a defense attorney, lives in Cary, just outside the district. Although he describes himself as a moderate, he holds one of the most liberal voting records in the state Senate, where he’s served since 2019. He doesn’t think his record will be a factor in the race.

“We're going to be running right down the middle,” Nickel said. “You win these races by getting out in the community every minute you can to talk with others about the issues that matter to them. And that's been kind of the secret of my success as a state senator.”

Nickel has the lion’s share of endorsements, though not all, from Democratic groups. He worked for former President Barack Obama on the campaign trail and during his first term in the White House. Obama has not endorsed anyone in this race, but Nickel’s ads feature him prominently.

“Certainly I’ve kept in touch with him and his folks, and I feel very confident that when we get to November, you know, we're going to have President Obama here in the district saying, ‘Yes, we can’ to win this race,” Nickel said.

Like Nickel, Searcy was also elected to the state Senate in 2018 but stepped down shortly after winning reelection in 2020. He was subsequently appointed by Gov. Roy Cooper to the state community college board. He’s an entrepreneur who lives in Holly Springs. He’s the only Democratic contender who’s won elected office in the district—something he likes to point out.

“I won election twice against tough Republican opponents in races that were considered tossups, and won them really well.” Searcy said. “And the core population of this district is where those two state Senate races were.”

Searcy, who had a more moderate voting record, was raised on a dairy and tobacco farm in rural western North Carolina, where he says his family lost their home to foreclosure and his father’s job was shipped overseas. He thinks swing and rural voters will find him relatable.

“You've got to have somebody that can still connect with everyone in Johnston County, Harnett County, Wayne County,” Searcy said. “And I think that's where my upbringing provides a unique advantage, because I understand the issues people face.”

The other candidates on the Democratic ballot are Nathan Click, a military veteran who works in business finance; Denton Lee, a Clayton teacher who describes himself as a political realist; and Jamie Campbell Bowles, a nurse from Clinton.

WRAL News asked hundreds of candidates questions about inflation, abortion, election laws and the partisan divide in the country. Readers can see what the candidates said in their own words, compare candidates side by side, and then print their choices to take to the polling place. The guide also allows users to get a reminder for the time and place of their vote.