U.S. Rep. David Price easily won re-election Tuesday to his 4th District seat, which represents much of the Triangle.

Price, 74, a Chapel Hill Democrat, was leading Republican challenger Paul Wright with 75 percent of the vote, according to preliminary returns.

Wright, 65, a Mount Olive lawyer and former judge, ran in the GOP gubernatorial primary in 2012. In his campaign, he opposed government spying on American citizens, and the “de-Christianization” of the United States.

Price was first elected to the 4th District seat in 1986. Former Raleigh Police Chief Fred Heineman ousted him in 1994, but Price won a rematch two years later. His district includes Chapel Hill and parts of Raleigh, Durham and Fayetteville.

A former Duke University political science professor, Price has published four books on Congress and American politics. He serves as the top Democrat on the House Homeland Security Appropriations Committee.