U.S. Rep. Valerie Foushee is seeking her third term in Congress, garnering nationwide attention as two Democrats, Foushee and Durham County Commissioner Nida Allam, vie for a seat representing North Carolina’s bluest congressional district in a contentious primary that has become a referendum on the party’s stance on Israel, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and how to battle the Trump administration. 

Who is Valerie Foushee?

Foushee is a familiar face in Orange County politics, having served in just about every level of local government. She began as a secretary for the Chapel Hill Police Department in 1987 and was elected to the Chapel Hill Carrboro City Schools Board of Education 10 years later, serving until 2004. 

After eight years on the Orange County Board of County Commissioners, Foushee was elected to the North Carolina General Assembly in 2012, first as a state representative and then as a state senator.

She now serves U.S. District 4, which includes Orange and Durham counties and parts of Chatham and Wake, having made history as the first woman and Black representative for District 4 when she was elected in 2022 following the retirement of former U.S. Rep. David Price. 

Foushee is a member of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, where she serves as Ranking Member of the Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee and sits on the Energy Subcommittee. She also serves on the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, including the Aviation and Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials subcommittees, and  co-chairs a new House Democratic Commission on AI and the Innovation Economy.

“I’ve been appointed to several task forces, the last of which is a commission that was established by the leader for development of AI and innovation — those things didn’t come because I didn’t know what I was doing,” she said. “Being able to pass critical legislation such as the IMPACT Act with bipartisan approval is not anything to sneeze at. I have a bill that has been introduced that is also bipartisan in nature. So I think it does help to have the experiences that will put you in a position where you don’t have to start from ground zero.” 

Foushee has received endorsements from a wide array of notable democratic politicians, including Gov. Josh Stein and former Gov. Roy Cooper, as well as the Congressional Black Caucus, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, the Collective PAC and the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People. 

“The outcome reflects a diverse slate of endorsed candidates we believe will effectively represent communities of color,” DCABP Chairman Floyd McKissick, Jr. said of the organization’s endorsement. 

Foushee said her reelection priorities include affordability, the “dismantling and defunding” of ICE and preserving American democracy.

The Democratic primary is widely expected to determine the eventual representative in the heavily Democratic NC-04 district. Though Foushee’s 2024 reelection campaign was unopposed, it was not without its controversies — controversies which have bled over into her next campaign. 

Israel and Campaign Finance 

In Allam’s first congressional campaign video of the season, an image appears of Foushee and eight other members of congress posing with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The image was taken in April 2024, during a period in which Netanyahu’s government had killed more than 30,000 people, including more than 10,000 children, in Gaza in the span of five and a half months. 

Foushee has faced criticism for her connections to Israel from her 4th district constituents, which includes Carrboro and Durham — the first municipalities in the state to pass resolutions calling for a ceasefire. 

During her 2022 congressional campaign, pro-Israel lobbying organization the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and its affiliated super PAC funneled over $3 million into Foushee’s campaign, becoming her largest benefactor and making the race the most expensive Democratic congressional primary in state history. 

After nearly two years of constituent pressure, Foushee joined a growing list of Democratic candidates facing progressive challengers in swearing off AIPAC contributions for the 2026 election cycle in August, three days before she co-sponsored a bill limiting the transfer of defensive weapons to Israel. 

“I listen to my constituents, and if it becomes an issue for them, then it’s an issue for me too, and it was easy enough for me to say, ‘okay, if this is what the majority of folk who made contact with us, if this is what they say, then this is how I’ll operate,'” Foushee said. 

This time around, many of Foushee’s campaign contributions come from industries she is tasked with regulating. Her campaign has received money from three railroad companies (BNSF, CSX, and Norfolk Southern), fossil fuel company Entergy, Delta Air Lines, space company Blue Origin and weapons companies like Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon and General Dynamics.

At a Feb. 17 candidate forum on UNC’s campus, Carrboro High School student Kaye Herr asked Foushee about donations from weapons companies like Lockheed Martin, which Herr said enable Israel’s genocide in Gaza, and asked if she planned to stop receiving donations from these companies. 

“I have a plan to not accept donations that don’t further what I believe helps the American public,” Foushee said in response. She added that the majority of her donations not only come from people in the state, but in the district. 

Can Foushee’s opponent do it this time around? 

In the race for her first Congressional term, Foushee defeated Allam by nine points in a primary that included six other candidates, including former American Idol star Clay Aiken, who received 7.4% of the vote. 

This year, only one additional candidate has entered the fray: Mary Patterson of Durham, a newcomer to politics who has not launched a significant campaign.

Since 2022, U.S. House District 4 had its boundaries shifted to include pockets of Alamance, Caswell, Granville and Person Counties. Of the roughly 40,000 votes Foushee received in 2022, about 22% came from areas no longer in the district, compared to around 5% of Allam’s voters. 

Director of Public Policy Polling Tom Jensen said Foushee still has an advantage over Allam due to her core demographic of older voters, who turn out at higher rates than voters under 45, a demographic Allam is reportedly favored among. 

Foushee’s political experience and name recognition throughout the district will also boost her chances, according to Duke politics and public policy professor Mac McCorkle. 

“I think our path to victory is that constituents have benefited from my service by way of funding that has been brought back to the district, by way of legislation that has passed the House, and by the fact that my voting record shows that I have listened to and I have responded positively to what we’ve heard from them,” Foushee said. 

Early voting began on Feb. 12 and will run through Feb. 28, with the general election set for March 3.