The “Zohran Mamdani of North Carolina” Took on an Incumbent Democrat in This Primary Race. Now It’s Likely Headed for a Recount.

A progressive challenger who has embraced comparisons to NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani is narrowly trailing North Carolina incumbent Rep. Valerie Foushee in a contest that seems likely headed to a recount after Tuesday’s primary. Foushee currently leads Durham County Commissioner Nida Allam by about 2,200 votes in North Carolina’s 4th Congressional District, which encompasses deep-blue cities like Chapel Hill and Durham. Though Foushee seems likely to win at this point, the closeness of the race is a testament to the enduring divide between progressives and establishment Democrats, especially those who’ve supported Israel. Many observers saw it as an early referendum on the direction the party might take in the midterms. 

Allam, who has been endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, has campaigned as a “true progressive” going against the grain of the “Democratic Party Establishment,” as she puts it. In 2020, she became the first Muslim woman elected to public office in North Carolina when she won a seat on the Durham County Board of Commissioners. She’s called for ICE to be abolished and for a moratorium on AI data centers.

Foushee hasn’t taken as strong a stance on ICE as her opponent, though she has called for the agency to be defunded. Foushee was the first African-American and the first woman to represent the district in Congress. She co-chairs the House Democratic Commission on AI and the Innovation Economy—a key point of contention in the race, considering there’s a data center proposal in the district. For the primary, Foushee earned endorsements from high-profile North Carolina Democrats, including US Senate candidate and former Gov. Roy Cooper and current Gov. Josh Stein. 

The winner of the NC-04 Democratic primary is almost guaranteed the seat in the House given the district’s history—Dems have held the seat for nearly 30 years. Tuesday’s primary is a rematch of 2022’s open primary for the seat, where Foushee overtook Allam 46 percent to 37 percent. 

Foushee’s positioning on Israel seems to be a key factor in the race’s closeness. In 2022, AIPAC and its affiliates pumped more than $2 million into Foushee’s primary campaign, and Foushee took an AIPAC-organized trip to Israel in March 2024. But in a town hall last August, after receiving heavy criticism from voters and local officials, Foushee walked her support of Israel back and said she wouldn’t accept AIPAC money for this latest congressional bid. After that town hall, Foushee signed on to co-sponsor the Block the Bombs act, which would prohibit the president from selling certain weapons to Israel. More recently, Foushee has also been a vocal opponent of US and Israeli attacks on Iran. 

Still, Allam hasn’t let voters forget Foushee’s previous ties to AIPAC or her ties to AI and defense companies. Indy Week reported more than $4.4 million in outside spending, making this North Carolina’s most expensive congressional primary ever. 

Though the race hasn’t been officially called, Foushee issued a statement last night declaring victory, while Allam has said she’ll call for a recount. In a post on X today, Foushee welcomed the possibility. “It is critical to our democracy that every lawful vote is counted,” Foushee wrote.