RALEIGH, N.C. (CN) - Valerie Foushee will likely reprise her role in the U.S. House after primary challenger Nida Allam conceded the race Wednesday evening.
"Though these were not the results we hoped for, I am proud of the movement we have built, the voices we have lifted up and the journey we have ahead," Allam said in her announcement.
According to unofficial results, she strayed Foushee by 1,202 votes, a margin of less than 1%. The race was close enough that Allam could have requested a recount. Her campaign confirmed to Courthouse News that she will not pursue one.
There was no Republican primary in the race, so Foushee will run against Republican Mahesh Ganorkar in the fall, a race she is expected to win. The Democratic primary was expected to determine the representative being sent to Congress because the urban area, which encompasses Durham and Chapel Hill, is so heavily Democratic.
Provisional ballots and those cast by military and overseas voters remain to be counted in the race, and Allam had previously told supporters Tuesday that she intended to request a recount.
Foushee, who announced victory after midnight on election night, had supported a possible recount in the race.
"It is critical to our democracy that every lawful vote is counted in our elections. I welcome the opportunity to ensure that right is protected and am confident that the Democratic voters of North Carolina will have nominated me to serve a third term," she said Wednesday.
Allam, the vice chair of the Durham County Board of Commissioners, was endorsed by Bernie Sanders, while Foushee is supported by former Governor and now-Senate hopeful Roy Cooper and current Democratic Governor Josh Stein. Foushee previously served in the state House and Senate before pursuing a congressional run in 2022.
The race was a match-up resembling 2022, when Foushee won out over Allam in the Democratic primary 46% to 36%. She went on to win the seat in the midterm election, securing 66% of the vote.
In the 2024 general election, Foushee beat Republican Eric Blankenburg with 71% of the vote.
Over $4.2 million dollars flooded into the election, making it the most expensive primary in state history.
The two candidates pointed fingers over funding during the race, with Foushee saying her biggest donors are unions and criticizing the use of an out-of-state PAC trying to unseat her, while Allam claimed Foushee's campaign is bankrolled by corporate PAC money and that she doesn't accept funds from corporate interests.
"With a margin this close, every vote counted, and in a democracy unbought by corporate interests, voters' voices would actually be heard," Allam said in her concession. "The AI lobby just bought its first seat in Congress. But despite their millions in last-minute spending, corporate lobbies were only barely able to eke out a win - because of the movement this campaign built."
There is still an outstanding race in the state, between Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger - largely considered one of the most powerful men in state politics - and primary challenger Sheriff Sam Page. Unofficial reporting from the state elections board puts Page two votes ahead of Berger, in a race where millions have been spent. It may be over a week before all ballots are in, and if there is a tie after the ballots have been audited, a new primary election could be held.
In 2024, a difference of 734 votes in a state Supreme Court election led to six months of legal disputes after North Carolina Court of Appeals Judge Jefferson Griffin attempted to have over 60,000 votes tossed in his race. He finally conceded after making his case before all levels of the North Carolina court system and having it go up to the Fourth Circuit.
Source: Courthouse News Service
