The race for the new congressional District 6 in North Carolina gained a familiar face to Orange County residents on Wednesday.

Democratic state Sen. Valerie Foushee announced she will run for election to the U.S. House district, which covers Orange County, Durham County and several towns in Wake County.

“I am thrilled to enter this race for [District 6] and bring a fighter for North Carolina to Congress,” shared Foushee on social media. “I’ve dedicated my entire life to public service and I know and understand the values of this district. In Congress, I’ll always protect working families, quality education, affordable health care, and voting rights.”

For the last eight years, Foushee has been the state senator in District 23, which covers Orange and Chatham counties. A life-long Orange County resident, she joined the Senate in 2013 after Sen. Ellie Kinnaird retired.

Foushee entered the North Carolina General Assembly a few years earlier after serving on the Orange County Board of Commissioners for eight years and serving on the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board of Education for eight years. Prior to that, Foushee worked 21 years for the Chapel Hill Police Department after graduating from UNC.

The 6th congressional district is one of those altered from the previous decade’s district maps in North Carolina. With the state adding a 14th district this time based on U.S. Census data, the state General Assembly passed changes to what was District 4, decreasing the district’s coverage to no longer include parts of Chatham, Granville and Franklin counties. In addition to all of Orange and Durham counties, the new District 6 also includes Cary, Apex and Morrisville in Wake County.

In 2022, the seat representing the Triangle in the U.S. House will be open for the first time in more than a decade. Longtime District 4 Rep. David Price announced in October he would not seek re-election after 17 terms.

Since then, the district, which traditionally votes for left-leaning candidates, has seen a flurry of activity from Democrats hoping to join Congress. State Sen. Wiley Nickel, Durham County Commissioner Nida Allam, Duke University climate expert Ashley Chandler Ward and small business owner Nathan Click all previously announced their campaigns for the Democratic nomination in District 6.

In addition to Foushee, Democrat Richard Watkins shared he will campaign for election to the district seat, switching his initial plans to run for U.S. Senate. Watkins, a virologist and founder of a scientific policy organization, previously ran against Price in the 2018 Democratic primary election for District 4. He finished in third with 6 percent of the vote.

Despite early legal challenges to the new congressional maps, it appears North Carolina will operate off them for the 2022 elections. Shortly after the maps were passed this month by the General Assembly, an advocacy group filed a lawsuit challenging their validity due to gerrymandering and independent groups have criticized the boundaries for their advantages to Republican lawmakers.

 

Photo via Valerie Foushee for NC Senate.

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