Valerie Foushee and Nida Allam post fundraising hauls in competitive NC-4 primary

Good morning! I’m Kyle Ingram, bringing you Friday’s Under the Dome newsletter.

In 2022, North Carolina broke fundraising records by hosting the most expensive Democratic congressional primary in the state’s history.

Individual donors, a cryptocurrency billionaire and pro-Israel PACs funneled millions into the race between Valerie Foushee and Nida Allam for the 4th Congressional District, which encompasses Durham and Orange counties.

Foushee, the primary recipient of these funds, won the race and is now seeking her third term in Congress. And once again, Allam is running against her.

If she wins, Allam, vice chair of the Durham County Board of Commissioners, would be the first Muslim woman from North Carolina elected to Congress.

So far, the race isn’t shaping up to be as expensive as last time — perhaps, in part, due to Foushee’s new pledge not to accept donations from AIPAC, the pro-Israel group that funneled over $3 million toward electing her in 2022.

And, unlike last time, Allam may actually have an edge over Foushee in fundraising.

But even though the primary is only weeks away, things can change quickly.

For now, here’s a look at where fundraising stands in one of North Carolina’s most competitive primaries.

Allam posts fundraising edge

In the last quarter, Allam reported over $334,000 in total contributions — more than double her opponent, who raised just under $132,000 this period.

In a statement last week, she touted her haul and reaffirmed her opposition to donations from corporate PACs.

“Our campaign is determined to put the voices of working families first and bring the power of the people back into the halls of Congress,” Allam said. “Corporate PACs and lobbies want us to believe that we can’t take our democracy back from their billionaire grips — but we’re proving them wrong.”

But although Allam’s campaign came out strong this quarter, Foushee has still raised more total this cycle, totaling nearly $362,000 in donations.

“I am glad that over two-thirds of my campaign’s contributions come from within the state of North Carolina. That shows that people here in our community are well aware of how hard I fight for them every single day in Congress,” Foushee said in a statement to The News & Observer.

While Foushee has pledged not to accept AIPAC donations, she has still taken contributions from a variety of corporate political action committees — a frequent target of criticism from her opponent.

Among them are PACs for defense contractors like Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and General Dynamics.

Ad backs Allam; pushback from Foushee

As Allam blasts her opponent’s corporate donors, Foushee has criticized a pro-Allam ad released by a progressive PAC called Leaders We Deserve.

The ad in question says Foushee “only works for the big guys” and criticizes her acceptance of campaign contributions tied to tech and crypto corporations.

But Foushee noted that Leaders We Deserve received $400,000 from Ronald Conway, a Silicon Valley venture capitalist and angel investor, during the 2024 election.

“While one of my opponents receives financial support from an out-of-state super PAC funded by tech billionaires, I will continue to be transparent about my campaign’s contributions and expenditures, and I look forward to continuing to fight for our community in Washington,” Foushee told The N&O.

Conway has not donated to Leaders We Deserve this cycle, per the most recent FEC reports.

Foushee has accepted contributions from PACs for tech companies such as Meta and Google.

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This story was originally published February 6, 2026 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Valerie Foushee and Nida Allam post fundraising hauls in competitive NC-4 primary."

Kyle Ingram

The News & Observer

Kyle Ingram is the Democracy Reporter for the News & Observer. He reports on voting rights, election administration, the state judicial branch and more. He is a graduate of the Hussman School of Journalism and Media at UNC-Chapel Hill.