Triangle congressional candidates Hines, Nickel tangle over qualifications, community connection

Republican political newcomer Bo Hines has taken aim at his Democratic opponent, state Sen. Wiley Nickel, over the lawmaker’s Cary home address, which is in the 2nd Congressional District, a few miles outside the 13th Congressional District they’re both seeking to represent. Nickel has punched back, saying he’s lived in the area longer and has more political experience than Hines.

The 13th district includes the southern portion of Wake County, all of Johnston County and parts of Wayne and Harnett counties. Portions of the western Wake County town of Cary are also in the newly formed 13th district.

“I live in Wake County,” Nickel said. “I live in Cary. This is a Cary district. There’s like one precinct between the line and my precinct, so that’s a silly argument. The voters want people who are going to go to Washington to represent this community and get results.”

“I got attacked for not being originally from the district, but I’ve been in North Carolina my entire life,” Hines, 27, said in an interview. “I’ve lived in Wake County for two years. I have now integrated myself into this community. Wiley Nickel doesn’t live in the district. No one’s talked about that. He doesn’t live in the district. He’s not integrated in the community, and he’s from California. He can’t even vote for himself in the election.”

Triangle congressional candidate Bo Hines moves to district a month out from election

Nickel, who was born in California and is 46, has long been a North Carolina resident and able to vote outside the district he’s vying for. The Democrat has also represented Wake County in the state legislature since 2019.

State voting data show that Hines cast ballots in Wake County during the 2014 general election and this year’s primary. Hines voted in the 2016 and 2020 general elections while residing in Union County, which is outside Charlotte. Nickel has cast ballots in 21 different elections as a Wake County voter since 2010, records show.

“This is my community and Bo Hines moved from the other side of the state just weeks before the election to try to buy this seat,” Nickel said. “Voters are not going to forget about any of that.”

North Carolina state law places more stringent residency requirements for state House and Senate candidates. Unlike congressional candidates, those running for the North Carolina legislature must have lived in the district they’re seeking to represent for one year prior to the general election.

Debates over residency have popped up in other races, including a competitive state Senate seat between Democratic candidate Valerie Jordan and Republican state Sen. Bobby Hanig. Hanig filed an election protest last month, saying Jordan sleeps in a Raleigh house outside the eastern North Carolina seat she’s pursuing. Jordan says she’s a district resident.

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Meanwhile, the arguments from Nickel and Hines over who is most qualified has only increased as the November election nears. Nickel has accused Hines of never having a job, opposing abortion in all cases and supporting a call to defund the FBI in response to bureau’s seizure of classified documents from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence.

“Bo Hines is just totally … unqualified and really has no clue what he’s doing,” Nickel said. “He’s 27, he’s never worked a day in his life, never had a real job and now he wants his first job to be U.S. congressman? I think the voters are going to see through that.”

Hines told WRAL News that he worked in his father’s license apparel company for two years. During that time, he said, he developed an understanding of manufacturing, helped negotiate deals and learned to speak Indonesian.

“I have real-life experiences ,” he said. “And I understand what it’s like to sign the front of a paycheck working in the family business. … I’ve been integrated in the business community from the time I was 17 years old.”

Hines also said he thinks abortion should only be legal when the mother’s life is at risk. He also said he’d be open to exceptions for rape and incest but would need to study the subject more before making a decision. The Republican also said he supports stripping funding for top FBI leaders.

“I would be certainly OK with defunding the political appointees at the top of the chain,” Hines said. “I’m not talking about the rank-and-file that work hard to protect our communities every day. But there needs to be some light that’s shined on these agencies that have operated in the dark for so long.”