Wiley Nickel wins US House race in Triangle, Trump-endorsed Bo Hines concedes

Wiley Nickel, a two-term Democratic state senator from Cary, won a highly competitive race for Congress from the Triangle, defying expectations that the swing district would slightly favor Republicans and picking up a critical seat for his party’s hopes of retaining control of Congress.

The Associated Press called the race for Nickel at about 12:20 a.m. Wednesday.

With all precincts reporting, unofficial results showed that Nickel had defeated his opponent, Bo Hines, by just over 7,200 votes, or about 2.6 percentage points.

“We’re feeling great. It’s been a great night. We had a big run and I’m humbled and honored to be representing North Carolina’s 13th District in Congress,” Nickel told The News & Observer in an interview at his election night watch party in downtown Raleigh. “It’s thanks to every single person who got behind this campaign and worked so hard to knock doors and make calls. We worked harder to get the right message.”

Shortly before 11:40 p.m. Tuesday, Hines spoke at his own watch party to congratulate Nickel and concede the race.

“We fell short,” Hines said, after thanking his supporters and campaign volunteers. “I conceded the race to Wiley Nickel, I want to congratulate Wiley on his victory. His campaign did a fantastic job and they came out victorious. And hey, that’s what makes this country special. This, because the voters get to decide, and they decided tonight.”

Earlier in the night, as final vote totals were being processed and reported, Nickel continued to maintain his lead over Hines. Just after 11 p.m., Nickel addressed his supporters in the back room of the downtown restaurant Sitti.

His voice was hoarse, but he appeared upbeat. He stood next to his wife, Caroline, daughter, Adeline, 7, and son, Prescott, 10.

“It’s the honor of a lifetime to earn the trust and support of a diverse coalition of Democrats, Republican and independent voters in North Carolina’s 13th district. We are excited about today’s turnout,” Nickel said to the crowd of around 60 people. “We always knew this was going to be a close race, and that’s why we have to wait for every ballot to be counted so that every voice can be heard.“

“I do keep checking this, though,” he said, raising up his phone, for another quick glance at the election results.

Nickel: ‘I ran on compromise’ and ‘working together’

The toss-up race between Nickel, a Democratic state senator and criminal defense attorney from Cary, and Hines, a 27-year-old political newcomer who was endorsed by Donald Trump and had enthusiastically campaigned with the former president, was expected to be the closest congressional contest in the state this cycle.

In an interview, Nickel told The N&O that his victory showed that his opponent, a “far-right extremist,” was not equipped to win in a swing district home to many moderate voters.

“As someone who ran to the right of Madison Cawthorn, he was out of step with his district,” Nickel said. “We won, in large part, (due) to pro-democracy Republicans and unaffiliated voters who know there’s a difference. And I go to Washington and work with the party of Ronald Reagan. The MAGA-extremist party of Donald Trump only accepts the election if they win. You can’t work with folks like that.”

“I ran on compromise,” he added. “I ran on working together. I would like to reach out to Republicans and work with them and for them to represent every single person in this district.”

Asked what he wanted to work on first after arriving in Washington, Nickel said he was hopeful Democrats would keep control of both the House and Senate, in order to codify the abortion protections of Roe v. Wade into federal law, and pass federal non-partisan independent redistricting reform.

Campaigning in a toss-up district

Both parties had identified the 13th Congressional District, which covers southern Wake — including a sliver of downtown and Southeast Raleigh, as well all of Johnston and parts of Harnett and Wayne — as a key pickup opportunity that could either help Democrats keep control of the House of Representatives or deliver Republicans a majority.

As of early Wednesday morning, it was unclear which party would emerge from the election with control of Congress.

Both Nickel and Hines emerged from crowded fields during the primary to win their respective party’s nominations, and since then, attempted to portray themselves as being more attuned to issues voters care about, while also trying to depict each other as being too conservative or too liberal for a swing district.

Nickel, who has served two terms representing Wake County in the state Senate, sought to present himself as a moderate Democrat who would try to curb the high level of inflation and lower health care costs. On the campaign trail, he criticized Hines for his lack of experience, and claimed Hines would bring an extreme position on abortion to Congress.

Hines, who earned Trump’s support fairly quickly after districts for this cycle were finalized, joined him at campaign rallies along with other GOP candidates, and campaigned for both enthusiastic supporters of the former president and voters who may have existed closer to the political middle but were frustrated with the Biden administration’s handling of the economy and illegal immigration, among other issues.

In the final weeks of campaigning, both candidates called on high-profile surrogates like House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, the second highest ranking Democrat in the House, and GOP Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, to help rally voters, boost turnout and emphasize the importance of this particular race for both parties as they battle for control of Congress.

The parties, along with political action committees they are aligned with, also poured millions of dollars in political ads into the race. As of Nov. 2, outside groups had spent at least $6.8 million on ads, the bulk of which funded attack ads against both Nickel and Hines.

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