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DURHAM, N.C. — Voters in North Carolina head to the polls Tuesday for one of this year's first statewide primaries.
Since President Trump's election in 2024, when Democratic primary voters have chosen the type of candidate they want to represent them in the second half of Trump's term, there have been a handful of upset victories.
A similar contest is playing out between an incumbent and a challenger with more progressive views in North Carolina's fourth congressional district. Democratic voters in the Raleigh-Durham area district will choose between incumbent Rep. Valerie Foushee or Durham County Commissioner Nida Allam.
Foushee is seeking her third term, but Allam is backed by Vermont's independent Sen. Bernie Sanders and several other national groups who want to replace Foushee with a younger, more outspoken leader who's further to the left. Allam says Democrats need to take stronger positions opposing immigration enforcement and Israel's war in Gaza.
The race has attracted spending from outside PACs and donors across the country seeking to shape the Democratic caucus in Congress. The March 3 primary comes weeks after a similar special election primary in New Jersey, where activist Analilia Mejia won an upset over former Rep. Tom Malinowski for an open seat.
Both Mejia and Allam worked on Sen. Bernie Sanders' presidential campaigns, and they have the support of the Sanders-aligned Justice Democrats group in their primaries. Sanders joined Allam recently at a rally in Durham.
"Nida is a proven fighter with the courage to take on corporate power, to take on billionaires, to take on billionaire-funded Super PACs like crypto and AIPAC and all of these special interest groups who think they can buy American democracy," Sanders said at the event.
Like Mejia, Allam's campaign is benefitting from outside ad spending. But unlike Mejia, Allam is facing a two-term incumbent endorsed by dozens of Democratic elected officials, including Gov. Josh Stein.
An Allam victory could signal an even bigger shift in the Democratic primary electorate this year — a strong sign of discontent with the party's current leaders in Congress.
After attending the Sanders rally in Durham, Kyle Barber said Allam's campaign has gotten him energized about politics.
"It's been so long since I've been this excited to vote," he said. "I have not been this excited to vote since 2020, and that was just because it was my first year I could vote. I am so tired of voting for the lesser of two evils."
But many Democrats don't have a problem with Foushee's record and are hesitant to switch leaders in Congress. "I like Nida, personally," said Melissa McCullough. "But Valerie Foushee has credibility amongst her peers, good committee assignments … and she brings home federal dollars. Now is not the time to send in someone who has to start from scratch."
The fourth district tilts heavily to the left, so whoever wins the primary is virtually guaranteed a win in November.
Allam argues that Foushee has not been forceful enough in opposing the Trump administration's immigration enforcement actions in North Carolina, Minnesota and elsewhere. When ICE and Border Patrol agents came to the state in November, Allam was among the protesters who filmed and shouted at them.
Foushee says she's sponsored and supported legislation to hold ICE accountable for what she calls a "profound abuse of power." Allam wants to abolish ICE entirely, while Foushee wants to defund the agency and push for major reforms to federal immigration enforcement.
Outside money seeks influence
Gaza is also a major issue in the race. Allam is North Carolina's first Muslim woman elected official, and she says Foushee has been too supportive of Israel. The congresswoman has taken trips to Israel funded by the bipartisan lobbying group AIPAC, and the pro-Israel group donated to her past campaigns. But last year Foushee said she won't be taking any of their contributions this time around.
Last August, Foushee co-sponsored the "Block the Bombs Act" that would ban the sale of offensive weapons to Israel.
Meanwhile, a new PAC called "American Priorities" has put more than $500,000 into the race so far in support of Allam. American Priorities said in a news release that this is the first of a dozen or so primaries where it's getting involved, and one of its key issues is reducing military aid to Israel. Another Allam backer is Leaders We Deserve, a group led by gun control advocate David Hogg. It has spent more than $270,000 on pro-Allam advertising.
The massive data centers needed to power AI have also become a controversy in the race, as it has across the country. Allam is calling for a national moratorium on building new ones. Foushee has said she thinks the decisions are best left to local leaders in communities where data centers are proposed.
A new group connected to the artificial intelligence company Anthropic is putting more than a million dollars behind Foushee. She co-chairs a committee on AI for House Democrats.
Endorsements could also play a role in the outcome. Dozens of North Carolina elected Democrats have lined up to endorse Foushee, including Gov. Josh Stein and former Gov. Roy Cooper, as well as the state's other Democrats in Congress and the leaders of the Democratic caucuses in the legislature.
Establishment figures like Cooper are likely looking ahead to the general election, when Republicans would likely try to tie Allam to Cooper's U.S. Senate campaign if she wins the primary.
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