Democrat Nida Allam is launching a primary challenge against Rep. Valerie Foushee (D-N.C.), she announced Thursday, joining a growing list of candidates vying to unseat House Democrats with a slate of progressive endorsements already in tow.
The Durham County commissioner is the latest progressive to launch an insurgent campaign against a Democratic incumbent, reinforcing what she describes as renewed energy in fighting against “Trump’s authoritarianism.” Her entrance into the race comes with a slew of progressive support — including from Justice Democrats, David Hogg’s Leaders We Deserve and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) — an early inundation of endorsements that quickly adds salience to the 31-year-old commissioner’s bid for office.
“I’m not here to stay quiet while Washington fails us,” Allam said in her campaign announcement Thursday. “I’m here to fight for the people who built this district.”
In launching her bid, Allam panned Foushee, 69, as a “silent” voice in Congress, asserting that constituents are looking for action that reaches beyond “strongly worded letters and Tweets.”
In a statement Thursday, Foushee — who’s served two terms in Congress — said her commitment to her district “remains unchanged” in the face of the emerging primary challenge, pointing to her past wins in advancing progressive legislation in Congress.
“Without listening to my constituents, I would not be able to properly reflect our community’s needs in Congress, like fighting back against Trump’s billionaire tax breaks, helping to uncover Elon Musk’s illegal interference in government contracts, and voting against the National Defense Authorization Act,” she wrote in the statement.
Other progressive organizations like the Working Families Party and the Sunrise Movement have already thrown support behind Allam, who they say has the resolve needed to buck the Trump administration — and veteran Democrats — in representing the working class in Congress.
Allam’s entrance into the race for North Carolina’s 4th Congressional District — a blue, Durham-based district — marks the second candidate in just a matter of days to announce plans to oust a sitting Democrat from Congress, with backing from major progressive players.
On Wednesday, Brooklyn progressive Brad Lander announced he’d challenge Rep. Dan Goldman for his seat in a district that New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani carried. His bid — which zeroed in on ramping up resistance against the Trump administration — quickly accrued support from the Democratic base’s left flank, including from the Working Families Party, Mamdani and Sanders.
