U.S. House 4: Valerie Foushee
An Orange County native with over two decades of experience in public office, state senator Valerie Foushee has vowed that she will work to enhance equity in education, reform the criminal justice system, expand healthcare access, and combat environmental racism if elected to the U.S. House.
Based on her record of fighting for progressive rights as a school board member, county commissioner, and state legislator, we believe her.
The INDY endorses Foushee as the best candidate to fill Rep. David Price’s vacant seat.
We do have some qualms with Foushee’s acceptance of $2.4 million in Super PAC contributions in the months leading up to the May primary.
The INDY plans to monitor whether Foushee’s corporate backers have an undue influence on the way she votes in Congress and encourages our readers to do the same.
But Foushee is far and away the better candidate than her challenger, nurse Courtney Geels.
Geels has no political experience and wants to defund Planned Parenthood, eliminate vaccine mandates in healthcare facilities, and other nonsense.
State House, District 50: Renée Price
Renée Price, who chairs the Orange County Board of Commissioners, says that if she is elected in her quest to serve in the General Assembly, she will “rise up and speak out” to help “assure our freedoms and justice.”
Price says she will protect voting rights and address climate change, along with criminal justice reform.
She describes education as a bridge builder that breaks down barriers and cross-cultural understanding.
Her Republican opponent, Charles Lopez of Mebane, is a human resources manager, who says “the right are under attack” and “voter integrity” is a nonpartisan issue.
“Did Donald Trump really lose to Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election?” he asks on his campaign website. “Our democracy is under threat when people no longer have confidence in its elections.”
The choice here is clear.
State Senate, District 23: Graig R. Meyer
Graig Meyer has served in the state House since 2013 and first ran as an educator on a pro-public schools platform. Meyer has many accomplishments to show for his time in Raleigh, including leading on legislation that would legalize cannabis, create universal paid family leave, and provide voter registration services and other assistance to voters should a voter ID requirement become law.
That’s not to mention the work Meyer has done to pressure the legislature to fully fund K-12 education and strengthen the Democratic caucus via chairing various legislative committees.
Meyer’s opponent, Landon Woods, owns a solar energy business, according to his website. If you think that’d somehow make him know better, you would be wrong. Woods’s campaign website is organized around the principles of “freedom,” “taxes,” and “safety;” this translates into public education being wrong for “pushing a left-leaning agenda,” a ban on abortion “with some exceptions,” stopping the (non-existent) teaching of critical race theory and “gender fluid pronouns,” and not accepting the result of the 2020 election, per responses to a News & Observer candidate questionnaire. Get this guy outta here.
State House, District 56: Allen Buansi (unopposed)
Civil rights attorney Allen Buansi proved to be an energetic and equity-minded leader during his four years on the Chapel Hill town council, where he successfully worked to increase the town’s affordable housing fund, pass a nondiscrimination ordinance, and issue a comprehensive climate action plan.
We look forward to following Buansi’s next chapter in the General Assembly.
Orange Soil & Water District Supervisor: W. Chris Hogan
This race has two candidates and two open seats, but we don’t know much about Richal Vanhook, so we’re offering our full support to incumbent W. Chris Hogan. As the climate grows increasingly extreme and unpredictable, we trust Hogan, a longtime board member with deep roots in Orange County agriculture, to stand up for both farmers and the natural environment.
Download our voter guide for more Orange County endorsements.
Support independent local journalism. Join the INDY Press Club to help us keep fearless watchdog reporting and essential arts and culture coverage viable in the Triangle. Send your comments to [email protected].