Foushee holds narrow lead over Allam for Triangle-area congressional district

U.S. Rep. Valerie Foushee carried a narrow lead over Nida Allam early Wednesday, with all precincts reporting in the Democratic primary for a Triangle-area congressional district. 

The 4th Congressional District covers all of Durham and Orange counties, as well as northern Chatham County and the western Wake County suburbs around Cary and Apex. 

With all precincts reporting, the unofficial results showed Foushee with 49.18% of the vote and Allam with 48.22%. Elections officials still need to count provisional ballots and ballots from military and overseas voters. Provisional ballots are expected to be counted by Friday. Overseas and military ballots are expected to be counted between now and the March 13 county canvass. After the full count is completed, and provided the difference is less than 1%, the trailing candidate can then request a recount.

A third candidate in the race, Mary Patterson, won 2.6% of the vote according to the unofficial results.

Allam has sought to channel the frustration of voters seeking a more outspoken, progressive politician representing the Triangle in Congress. In a speech to supporters gathered in downtown Durham late Tuesday night, Allam said she planned to call for a recount but is proud of her movement regardless of the outcome.

“I want to thank each and every single one of you, every group that has already changed the history of North Carolina politics,” Allam said. “Win or lose … the fight continues.”

Foushee wasn’t in public on Tuesday night, and her spokesperson declined an interview request, citing the late timing of the results which were fully reported around midnight. She plans to now head back to Washington for more votes in Congress, saying in a written statement she’ll continue fighting for liberal causes.

“The people of the 4th district demand progressive change like dismantling ICE, ensuring Medicare for All, regulating AI, establishing a Green New Deal, and passing legislation to block arms sales to Israel,” Foushee said in the statement. “This remains my top priority in Congress — no matter what narrative out-of-state groups attempt to cast about my voting record.”

After Allam said she'd likely ask for a recount, Foushee said Wednesday she would welcome that and remained confident in emerging victorious regardless.

"It is critical to our democracy that every lawful vote is counted in our elections," Foushee said. "I welcome the opportunity to ensure that right is protected, and am confident that the Democratic voters of North Carolina will have nominated me to serve a third term."

Foushee, Allam and groups backing them poured millions of dollars into ads over the past month. While Allam sought to portray Foushee as beholden to corporate interests, Foushee highlighted her actions in Congress, particularly steps seeking accountability for Republican President Donald Trump and his administration’s ramped-up immigration enforcement. She had also pointed to her campaign’s financial support from political action committees representing various labor unions.

“My biggest donors are unions,” Foushee said in a pre-election video. “The hard-working people of North Carolina.”

Foushee and Allam are both deeply liberal in their policy stances. Allam, 32, positioned herself as the outsider fighting against big-money political interests, while Foushee, 69, was the favorite of the party establishment — backed by Democrats in Congress as well as North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein and former Gov. Roy Cooper.

“I’ve seen first-hand how Valerie leads with integrity, dedication and a clear focus on serving others,” Stein said in a video explaining his endorsement. “In Washington, she will never stop fighting on the issues that matter most to us.”

Allam brought progressive U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont to campaign for her as early voting kicked off last month. Sanders called Allam “a proven fighter with the courage to take on corporate power, to take on billionaires.”

Allam, who lost to Foushee in the 2022 primary, made the congresswoman’s corporate financial support — from defense contractors, Big Pharma, artificial intelligence and more — a large theme of her campaign. “You can't claim to be fighting Trump when your campaign is bankrolled by the very same donors who put him in office,” Allam told WRAL.

Records show Allam’s grassroots candidacy was backed by Muslim-American donors from across the nation, as well as a group backed by Parkland shooting survivor David Hogg that advocates for putting younger politicians in office.

Foushee rose through the ranks of local politics in Orange County, from school board to county commission to state legislature, over the course of several decades. She has been in the U.S. House for two terms; she first won in 2022 after she defeated Allam in the race for what was then an open seat after the retirement of David Price, a Democrat who represented Durham in Congress for over 30 years.