A recount is likely in the Democratic primary in North Carolina’s 4th Congressional District, where incumbent Valerie Foushee leads with 1 percent of the vote.
In unofficial results, Foushee won 49.22% vote rate, only 1.01% more than 48.21% Durham County Commissioner Nida Allam. Mary Patterson won 2.6%. Fouchy led Alam by 1,202 votes out of nearly 122,000 primary votes cast.
Provisional ballots and some military and overseas ballots have yet to be counted. If the margin after counting is 1% or less, Alam can ask for a forced recount.
About five hours later, Alam took the stage at a pre-midnight watch party to address supporters, staff and media.
On March 3, 2026, Nida Allam narrowly trailed Valerie Foushee in the Democratic primary for North Carolina’s 4th Congressional District. (Christine Zhu/NC Newsline)
“While we don’t have complete results when we go to bed tonight, we will continue to exercise our right to dream, and we will deliver victories for North Carolina’s working families in the days ahead,” Alam told supporters.
The race broke outside spending records for a North Carolina congressional primary. independent expenditure group Loss nearly $4.5 million As of Monday, the previous record set in the 2022 race between Alam and Fouchy was broken in terms of advertising for the candidates.
The primary symbolizes the coming battle between the progressive and establishment wings of the Democratic Party. That divide deepened after the 2024 election, when Democrats lost the White House and both chambers of Congress.
Fouchy served two terms in Congress and enjoyed support from the traditional Democratic base, particularly black voters. She is a fixture in Orange County politics, having previously served as a state representative, senator and chair of the Orange County Commission.
Alam has received support from progressives such as Independent Senator Bernie Sanders from VermontHe gave a speech to her during the Confronting the Oligarchy Tour in Durham last month.
The Democratic candidate will face Republican Manesh Gunorkar and Libertarian Guy Meilleur on the November ballot, but is expected to win easily in a reliably Democratic-leaning district.
