In our last print edition, Chase Pellegrini de Paur took a deep dive into the 4th Congressional District Democratic primary, covering the two front-runners (incumbent Rep. Valerie Foushee and Durham County Commissioner Nida Allam), the big issues motivating voters, and the stakes of the race to represent one of the country’s bluest districts. We received many messages responding to the story, including these:
From reader Natalie Spring by email:
In ‘A House District Divided’ the NC4 primary is laid out as a contest between a measured, traditional, establishment politician—and a younger, outspoken candidate happy to be compared to Mamdani.
I am tired of someone playacting civility like it’s the 1990’s. The political moment we face is real and grim, and I, for one, am ready for someone willing to actually fight for all of us. Now is not the time to be measured. Working moms like me are fed up with business as usual politics and hearing and seeing nothing from our representative.
Over the holiday break I received a mailer from our representative and I read it to see if I could figure out what Valerie Foushee is doing in DC, since I never see her in Durham.
I had no idea that Valerie Foushee was protecting reproductive freedom. Where would she suggest someone in North Carolina go for abortion care after 12 weeks?
She’s strengthening voting rights? We have to show ID to vote in NC now, and good luck if you need to get a DMV appointment to renew or acquire a Real ID.
She’s lowering healthcare costs? My premiums and out-of-pocket expenses are so high I almost thought they had repealed Obamacare—to say nothing of friends who have had to travel for medical care for their trans kids or are contemplating moving out of state with their families.
I still do not know what she stands for or what she is actually doing, other than speaking in quiet platitudes and now referencing her “behind the scenes power,” which, in my experience in the PTA, if you brag about, you don’t really have it.
NC 4 will always be a D+23 district. We can do what so many across the country can only dream of—send a true progressive through the primary to win largely unopposed in the General.
That is why I’m voting for Nida. I want someone representing me with energy, ideas, and the commitment to make real change in DC. I’m tired, y’all. Let’s elect Nida and have one bright spot in our politics.
From Bluesky user Joseph Feldblum:
Good primer here. No doubt Foushee is a dedicated public servant, but when I call her office and ask, amidst an escalating crisis of democracy, what Foushee is doing *differently* now from what she did during Biden, they offer nothing, and in fact get extremely defensive.
More specifically they’ll point to a couple signed letters and a single rally she attended in January. I think it’s an extremely fair question and a disqualifying set of answers.
From Facebook user Mary Paul Thomas:
Quoting from the article: “Why at this time in history—where we will likely lose Black members of Congress—why should this district, Durham, that is very progressive, say we are going to fire a Black woman that is showing up and doing her job?” – NC State Senator Natalie Murdock. There is no reason to displace Rep. Foushee, and I think it was quite disrespectful of Allam, who I would normally fullheartedly support, to challenge her. As a native North Carolinian, I think it’s crucial to reelect and support an experienced incumbent Black woman. There’s a historical context here in the South of those denied access. Foushee has lived experience that Allam does not, and she represents her full constituency in a broader manner.