CORRECTION: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated the district State Senator Valerie Foushee is running. She is running for the U.S. House of Representatives in District 6. The previous version also incorrectly said what office Chair of the Orange County Board of Commissioners Renee Price is running for. She is running for the North Carolina House of Representatives. The Daily Tar Heel apologizes for the error.
With the 2021 municipal elections behind us, candidates have already started announcing for the 2022 midterms. Orange County is set to be an especially intriguing area with open seats in the State House of Representatives, State Senate and even a national congressional seat.
With three new congressional maps recently approved in North Carolina, it’s worth breaking down which districts impact Orange County in what races — and who is running for what.
In the North Carolina State House of Representatives, the districts in Orange County are District 50 and District 56.
Currently, District 50 is represented by Graig Meyer. This, however, is set to change because Meyer announced he would run for North Carolina State Senate in 2022. The current candidates for NC District 50 are Hillsborough Commissioner Matt Hughes and Chair of the Orange County Board of Commissioners Renee Price.
Price had originally announced she was running for State Senate, but “at the urging of a number of friends and supporters,” said her talents would be better served in the House.
District 56 is currently represented by Verla Insko, who announced she would not seek reelection earlier this year. The current candidates set to take over Insko’s seat are Orange County Democratic Chairperson Jonah Garson and Chapel Hill Town Council Member Allen Buansi.
Orange County’s State Senate is represented by District 23. Current Senator Valerie Foushee is running for another office, so that seat will also be changing in 2022. Candidates that have been announced for State Senate District 23 include Rep. Graig Meyer and Hillsborough Chef Jamie DeMent Holcomb.
The most contentious and powerful seat up for election is the open congressional seat of the U.S. Congress District 6. It was vacated by David Price who is retiring at the end of the year. Price has been in office for more than 30 years so whoever takes over the seat has the potential to shake up Washington and bring a new voice coming from Orange County. The current candidates are Sen. Valerie Foushee, Sen. Wiley Nickel, Nathan Click, Ashley Ward and Durham County Commissioner Nida Allam.
