Local Limelight: Valerie Foushee's life in Orange County
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Rep. Valerie Foushee is a lifelong Orange County resident who never wants to leave.
Why it matters: The Democratic congresswoman is defending her seat in the primary from a familiar foe, progressive local official Nida Allam, whom Foushee defeated by 9 points in a wider field in 2022.
- If this year's results are any different, they could be instructive for the Democratic Party ahead of November's general election, when Democrats hope to seize control of the House from Republicans.
Zoom in: Foushee, whose family's local political and activism roots run deep, has spent the better part of 40 years in public service in Orange County, beginning in admin at the Chapel Hill Police Department in 1987.
- Before Congress, Foushee, 69, served on the local school board, county commission and in both chambers of the state legislature.
We talked with Foushee for our latest Local Limelight conversation. This Q&A has been edited for length and clarity.
📖 First read in the morning? I do my prayer, I read the scriptures and then I meditate. Probably the total time is about 15, 20 minutes.
🦑 Favorite place to eat in the Triangle? Squid's restaurant in Chapel Hill.
☕️ Favorite coffee shop? I make coffee at home.
🚉 What's one thing the Triangle is missing? Transit options. I've been working on transit since I was a county commissioner. We haven't gotten very far, but I'm hoping that passenger rail comes pretty soon.
✍️ If you could pass any one law, what would it be? Right now, in North Carolina and for this nation, it would be the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.
📖 Last great book you read? "While Justice Sleeps," by Stacey Abrams.
🎧 Do you have a go-to podcast? "The Don Lemon Show."
🩵 You grew up in Chapel Hill. Why did you choose to stay in the area? It's the Southern part of heaven. I don't think I'd want to live anywhere else. I live in Hillsborough now, but it was just a matter of wanting to be back to the small-town charm that Chapel Hill used to have when I was growing up.
⛱️ Favorite long weekend spot? I love Nags Head.
🎬 Last great movie you watched? "The Six Triple Eight."
🐣 What's something you're looking forward to, unrelated to politics or work? My third grandchild being born. And so, the opportunity to spend more time with my grandchildren is probably what I'm looking forward to.
🗳️ Your primary this time is a rematch. Is there anything you are intentionally doing differently? The difference between that time and this one is that I'm a current member of Congress serving as hard and as best as I can.
🌳 When you meet colleagues in D.C., what do you hear the most about North Carolina? I don't know a single colleague who has been to North Carolina who has not remarked about how beautiful North Carolina is.
- We drive to D.C., and I'm reminded, particularly on a sunny day, just how beautiful it is and how some places are really pastoral. The fact that we have the mountains and the beaches and everything in between. And we have great universities. It's a great state.
🍷 How do you unplug at the end of the day? It's by debriefing the day with my husband, who watches more C-Span now than he ever has in life. He has questions, and we just talk about that, and then I have a glass of wine.