Races called in favor of two Triangle Democratic candidates for Congress

Two Democrats have taken congressional seats that take up much of the Triangle’s population.

Less than an hour after the polls closed, The Associated Press called the race for the 4th Congressional District for State Sen. Valerie Foushee of Chapel Hill, who is seeking her first term in the U.S. House of Representatives. She will replace veteran Rep. David Price who announced his retirement a year ago and triggered a hard-fought primary for his seat in a heavily Democratic district.

The AP also called the race for the 2nd House District for incumbent Deborah Ross of Raleigh. She wins a second term representing the district, which is also heavily Democratic.

Unofficial results show Foushee with 67% of the vote and Republican Courtney Geels with 33%. Ross had a big lead of 65% of the vote to Republican Christine Villaverde’s 35% with nearly all of the precincts reporting late Tuesday.

Foushee will be the third Black woman to represent North Carolina in Congress, after Reps. Eva Clayton, who served from 1992 to 2003, and Alma Adams, first elected in 2014 and still representing the 12th District.

Foushee, 66, a retired administrator for the Chapel Hill police, began her political career with a seat on the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City School Board, followed by elections to the Orange County Board of Commissioners, the state House and Senate.

“I am truly humbled and honored that the voters of North Carolina’s Fourth Congressional District have put their faith and trust in me to represent them in Washington,” Foushee said in an emailed statement. “There is so much at stake in our country right now, from abortion rights to protecting our democracy, we’ve rarely been this divided. I look forward to going to Washington to help heal our nation and bring people back together.”

In a phone interview, Foushee said her experience in state and local politics played a big role in her victory.

“I think that my record stood out,” she said.

Ross is an attorney who served in the state House from 2003 to 2013 and unsuccessfully challenged incumbent Republican Richard Burr for U.S. Senate in 2016 as the Democratic nominee. She then won the 2nd Congressional District seat in 2020.

“I am honored that the people of Wake County have put their faith in me once again to serve as their representative in Washington, and I am excited to represent many new communities in the new Second District,” Ross said in an emailed release. “It is a privilege to continue being your voice in Washington.”

Foushee and Ross had said they would seek to pass legislation that would codify the abortion rights that had been protected by the Roe v. Wade decision. Both also had pledged to combat inflation and its impact on working families.

“We’re at a point where we need to provide relief to Americans as it relates to inflation and people being able to pay for groceries and gas,” she said. “Educating their kids and owning homes and all of those things that have been a part of the American dream.”