Nickel and Hines to face-off in competitive NC 13 | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's Note: This post appears here courtesy of the Carolina Journal. The author of this post is Ray Nothstine.

    Wiley Nickel and Bo Hines will face off for the 13th Congressional District seat. The district includes Johnston County, as well as parts of Wayne, Harnett, and Wake Counties.

    Nickel's victory in the Democratic primary is now assured, and the Republican leader Hines is safely above 30%, so will avoid a runoff. Hines, who was endorsed by Donald Trump, faced a strong challenge from DeVan Barbour from Benson and attorney Kelly Daughtry who resides in Clayton. Hines does not live in the district but said he intends to move to Fuquay Varina if he wins the GOP primary.

    Daughtry continually attacked Bo Hines for being a "fake conservative" and somebody who is trying to "buy a congressional seat." Like other detractors of Hines, Daughtry claims that Hines has never had a real job.

    Hines played football at North Carolina State University and later transferred to Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. "After graduating from Yale, I pursued a law degree from the Wake Forest School of Law to escape the leftist propaganda of the Ivy League," declares Hines on his website.

    Hines initially said he would run against popular Republican Congresswoman Virginia Foxx before weighing other options and then finally settling on the newly drawn boundaries for North Carolina's 13th Congressional District.

    Barbour decided against running a negative campaign and spent much of the race focusing on his role as a husband and dad. His more humorous ads focused on being a husband and "seven-time dad of the year."

    Wiley Nickel who appears to have claimed an easy victory previously worked for former Vice President Al Gore and President Barack Obama. Nickel has served in the North Carolina State Senate since 2018, where he represents parts of Wake County. Nickel's main opponent in the primary was Sam Searcy, a former member of the state Senate.

    The 13th Congressional District is expected to be the most competitive U.S. House race in November in the state. Under the new boundaries, President Biden and Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson both won within the district.