News & Observer endorsements: Our choices in the Triangle’s congressional races

13th District

The race to win North Carolina’s 13th Congressional District is close, but when it comes to who is the better candidate, it’s no contest.

Democratic state Sen. Wiley Nickel is way ahead of Republican Bo Hines in qualifications and competence. Most importantly, Nickel defends democracy while Hines defends former President Donald Trump and his lies about a stolen 2020 presidential election.

That’s all voters should need to know about who is best to represent the district that includes southern Wake County, all of Johnston County and parts of Harnett and Wayne counties. We strongly endorse Wiley Nickel.

In an era of extreme gerrymandering, the 13th District stands out for its remarkable political balance. It includes suburbs and farmland, new communities and old towns and red and blue voting patterns. Such a district calls for a representative focused on the common good and common needs.

As a state senator, Wiley Nickel, 46, advocated for Medicaid expansion, more public school funding, voting rights, environmental protections and improvements in the state’s inadequate unemployment insurance program. North Carolina needs a congressman with those priorities.

Hines, 27, would be the youngest member of Congress and he is unfortunately similar in more than his age with disgraced North Carolina Rep. Madison Cawthorn, who was elected at 25. Like Cawthorn, Hines is a MAGA warrior whose first loyalty is to Trump and Trumpism.

Hines is too untested, erratic and extreme to represent a district almost equally balanced between red and blue voters. It’s essential that voters who know the difference between extremism and competent representation get out and vote for Wiley Nickel.

ENDORSEMENTS: All the N&O's choices in 2022 races

2nd District

Although adjacent to the closely contested 13th Congressional District, the 2nd Congressional District offers no drama about the outcome. Democratic incumbent Deborah Ross is almost certain to defeat her Republican challenger Christine Villaverde in this blue district. This race is so low-profile that Ross said in a recent interview that she had never met Villaverde, a political newcomer and former police officer. Villaverde is anti-abortion, wants lower taxes and supports former President Donald Trump’s “America first” agenda.

Despite her safe district, Ross, a former state representative, has reached out to Republicans in her first term in Congress. She wants to show that cooperation on mutual concerns is still possible in Washington. She understands that Republicans are her constituents, too. “I’m trying to reflect the voters of my district and work across the aisle,” she said.

While willing to cooperate with Republicans where she can, Ross, a former head of the North Carolina ACLU, supports a progressive agenda that includes protecting abortion rights and voting rights and supporting clean energy and comprehensive immigration reform. We strongly recommend the reelection of Deborah Ross.

4th District

Replacing David Price requires someone that demands that same respect. Valerie Foushee is the right woman for the job. Her Republican opponent, Courtney Geels, an election denier, is not.

Foushee is a true product of Orange County, and those roots show with every election she’s won in the last two decades. She served on the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board of Education and the Orange County Commissioners and has served in both chambers of the NC General Assembly. But what really stands out is how she has done all of this without bravado.

“I’ve never seen anyone that has less concern for building their ‘brand’ than Valerie Foushee, because her brand is what she does for you ,” fellow Chatham County legislator Robert Reives tells us.

We didn’t endorse Foushee in the primary race, in part because of spending on her behalf by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a group that has previously come under fire for Islamophobic sentiments. Nida Allam, one of Foushee’s main opponents in that race, is Muslim.

In the general election, we recommend Valerie Foushee.