Your choices in this Wake County primary: 2 Democrats with different DC experience

It’s hard to find much airspace between Wiley Nickel and Luis Toledo on political and policy issues. The two Democrats competing in a Wake County district want the state to spend more on public education, end gerrymandering of election boundaries, and enact stricter gun control laws.

Both candidates pledge to support LGBT rights and want to stop additional income tax cuts scheduled for next year so there's more money to spend on education.

They're running in a district that includes Morrisville, parts of Cary, and northwest Raleigh. Senate District 16 is new — there's no incumbent — and it leans Democratic. Former U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan, a Democrat, won the district with nearly 56 percent of the vote in 2014 to Republican Thom Tillis's 41 percent, when Tillis won statewide.

The district's Democratic bent means the winner of the Toledo-Nickel contest has a strong chance to win the November general election.

The winner is likely to face Republican Paul Smith and Libertarian Brian Irving in the fall.

Nickel and Toledo took distinctly different paths to their candidacies, but both trajectories ran through Washington, D.C.

Nickel, a 42-year-old lawyer with family roots in California — he ran for a seat in the California state Senate a dozen years ago — worked on planning public events for Vice President Al Gore during the Clinton administration, on Gore's presidential campaign, and on Howard Dean's presidential campaign in 2004. He worked for former President Barack Obama for most of his first term, continuing to travel with him after moving to North Carolina in 2009.

"For 22 years, I've been involved in politics at a national, highest level," Nickel said. "I'm somebody from Day One who could effectively represent this district."

Nickel said he saw Obama at a North Carolina rally just before the 2016 presidential election, where they talked about how they were sure Hillary Clinton was going to win.

"When you wake up after that horrible loss," he said, "you just get upset and angry enough about the direction we're heading."

Toledo, 33, was born in Houston and moved with his family to McDowell County when he was 15. He talks often about growing up in a low-income family with single mother and working two part-time jobs in high school — one after school and another on weekends.

Toledo joined the Air Force after high school, earned a master's degree in public administration, and became a Presidential Management Fellow at the U.S. State Department. He worked on global hunger and food security as well as diplomatic safety, and conducted research at the Pentagon.

"While my opponent was traveling with the president, I was managing the president's programs," Toledo said.

Toledo returned to North Carolina and worked as a senior auditor in the State Auditor's office. He left in 2016 and now works as an analyst at the left-leaning North Carolina Justice Center. He said work in the auditor's office gives him insights into the inner workings of state government.

Nickel started running for the legislature last year even before he knew for sure what district he'd be running in. Nickel said he announced early so he could get to work.

"It was just about running a good campaign," he said. "To do that, it takes time to organize, takes time to fund raise."

Nickel had raised more than $250,000 by April 21, which includes nearly $90,000 of his own money. Toledo's latest campaign finance report is not available, but the $3,600 he'd raised by the end of last year put his fundraising total far behind Nickel's.

Nickel said he'll be the candidate who helps elect Democrats in Wake's other state Senate districts. Republicans hold supermajorities in both the House and Senate, making for a legislature that can impose its will on Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper and overturn his vetoes with ease. Democrats need to increase their number from 15 to 21 to break the Senate supermajority.

"For me, there's no point in being in the Senate if we can't pick up my seat plus five others," Nickel said. "It's about keeping the seat. It's about having an effective senator. It's also about winning other races."

Toledo said that as a Hispanic candidate who grew up in a family that occasionally needed government assistance programs, he would be able to travel the state to inspire potential voters who often feel excluded from politics. If elected, he would be the legislature's only Hispanic lawmaker.

"I represent many people who have not had a seat at the table for a long time," Toledo said. "These are people who are low-income, people who grew up with single mothers, grew up with food stamps or Medicaid or housing, just normal, ordinary people. I'm inspiring to them because I'm coming with a message about putting people first."

Though Toledo and Nickel share political and policy views, their emphases vary a bit.

Toledo wants the state to focus on improving and expanding services for the elderly.

"I want to promote grants that increase the ability of seniors to receive assistance where they are living," he said.

Nickel said the state should reinforce its renewable energy initiative and commit to getting all its energy from renewable sources. Policies that support renewable energy create jobs and attract technology companies to the state, Nickel said.

"Tech companies, they have a commitment to renewable energy and they don’t want to come here if they can’t get it," he said.

Early voting ends May 5 and the primary is May 8.

This story was originally published May 1, 2018 at 12:07 PM with the headline "Your choices in this Wake County primary: 2 Democrats with different DC experience."