Rep. Valerie Foushee Gets a Primary Challenger Backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders

North Carolina Rep. Valerie Foushee is facing a primary challenge from her left by a young county commissioner backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders and major progressive groups.

Nida Allam, a Durham County commissioner, announced Thursday that she’s challenging Foushee, who has led North Carolina’s 4th District since 2023. She’s beginning her campaign with endorsements from Justice Democrats, Leaders We Deserve, Sunrise Movement and Working Families Party.

“At a moment when the oligarchs are tightening their grip on government, we need leaders like Nida — leaders who answer to working families, not the billionaire class,” Sanders said in a statement announcing Allam’s bid. Allam served as a political director in North Carolina for Sanders’ 2016 presidential run.

Allam is among several Democrats challenging incumbents with the backing of progressive leaders. Brad Lander, the New York City comptroller, announced Wednesday that he is challenging Rep. Daniel Goldman. Lander also won Sanders’ endorsement. New York Reps. Ritchie Torres and Adriano Espaillat are also facing primaries from candidates positioning themselves as the more progressive option.

This isn’t Allam’s first primary bid against Foushee in the 4th District. In 2022, she lost by nine points in the most expensive Democratic congressional primary in state history. But victories like Zohran Mamdani’s in New York City’s mayoral race have shown the strength of a progressive campaign focused on affordability, Allam said.

“Even if we didn’t officially win in this election in 2022, what I’ve learned and seen is that there is still a strong desire for a champion for working families within this district and across the country,” Allam told NOTUS. “This is not just something that was impacting New York, it’s impacting North Carolina’s 4th Congressional District. It’s impacting everyone across the country, and it’s not a partisan issue.”

The 4th District, a solidly Democratic part of the state located just west of Raleigh, is home to a large number of federal workers and immigrants. Allam is the daughter of Indian and Pakistani immigrants who moved to the district when she was five years old. She was the first Muslim woman to hold public office in the state.

The district has been “at the center of so much of the Trump administration’s attacks and the Democratic Party’s failures,” said Usamah Andrabi, communications director at Justice Democrats. “It is time to pass the torch and have leadership who is actually ready to fight with the urgency that this community needs first and foremost, and I think Foushee just lacks that fight and lacks that urgency to actually do that work.”

The district was the hardest hit by Department of Government Efficiency cuts in the country, and federal Border Patrol agents were spotted in Durham last month.

Foushee touts a progressive track record. In her last bid against Allam, she campaigned on voting rights, health care access and affordable housing. In Congress, she is part of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and the centrist New Democrat Coalition, where she chairs an artificial intelligence task force.

“Throughout my years in public service, I’ve faced every challenge with the same approach: show up, do the work, and stay focused on delivering real results for North Carolina. That commitment is the foundation of everything I’ve done, and it remains unchanged,” Foushee said in a statement after Allam’s announcement. She also emphasized her endorsements from Gov. Josh Stein and former governor, now Senate candidate, Roy Cooper.

Justice Democrats and Allam have specifically focused on Foushee’s past acceptance of super PAC and corporate PAC money.

Foushee’s victory in 2022 was in part propelled by super PACs, including $433,000 from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, AIPAC. Foushee has since agreed to stop accepting money from AIPAC for her 2026 reelection bid, joining other Democrats who have distanced themselves from the pro-Israel lobbying group. She also was backed by Sam Bankman-Fried, but she gave his donation to a nonprofit in her district after Bankman-Fried was federally charged with fraud.

Foushee’s campaign committee and leadership PAC received roughly $30,500 from the pharmaceutical and health products industry in 2024, according to OpenSecrets.

“You have to be accountable to the working families of this district, and you can’t accomplish that if you’re funded by the same pharmaceutical industry and private hospital lobbyists who have been working against Medicare for All,” Allam said.

Progressive groups are banking on the momentum around Mamdani and others to propel challenges to incumbents — a point of serious tension in the Democratic Party.

Allam notably has the backing of David Hogg’s PAC. Hogg, who was pushed out of his official Democratic National Committee position for pushing generational change within the party.

Hogg’s PAC, so far, is endorsing two challengers in addition to Allam to unseat Democratic incumbents next year. The group is endorsing Justin Pearson to oust Rep. Steve Cohen in Tennessee’s 9th District and Donavan McKinney to replace Rep. Shri Thanedar in Michigan’s 13th District.

“Our candidates, when they are challenging somebody, they obviously have to be better than the opponent, both in inspiring the next generation and also having a track record of delivering for their constituents,” Hogg said.

Primary elections in North Carolina are scheduled for March 3, 2026.

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This story was updated with Rep. Valerie Foushee’s statement.