Democrat David Price will retire after more than 30 years representing NC in Congress
Longtime U.S. Rep. David Price announced his retirement Monday, potentially opening the door for new congressional candidates in a Democratic stronghold in the Triangle. The powerful lawmaker will not run for reelection in 2022.
North Carolina’s 4th Congressional District and the state’s other political districts are being redrawn by the General Assembly. Price’s current 4th district includes Durham, Orange, Franklin, Granville and Orange counties along with parts of Wake, Chatham and Vance counties.
Price served four terms from 1987 to 1995. He lost the seat in 1994 during the Republican Revolution that saw 34 House Democrats lose reelection, but regained it in the 1996 election. He’s remained in Congress since.
He has long served on the House Appropriations Committee and is chairman of its subcommittee for transportation, housing and urban development.
Price made the announcement in an interview with WRAL-TV. In a news release, he said that “while it is time for me to retire, it is no time to flag in our efforts to secure a ‘more perfect union’ and to protect and expand our democracy. I am deeply grateful to the people of the Fourth District for making my service possible and for what we have been able to achieve together. And I promise, in the fifteen months remaining and beyond, to continue fighting for the just and inclusive country we believe in.”
Gov. Roy Cooper, also a Democrat, tweeted that he was grateful for Price’s service to North Carolina.
“David Price is the epitome of what it means to be a public servant and our state is stronger thanks to his years of work,” Cooper said.
A flood of retirement announcements by the majority party can mean an expectation that it will lose the majority in the next election. As of last week that hadn’t happened, the Washington Post reported, with about 10 other Democrats and roughly the same number of Republicans announcing at that point that they won’t run again.
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Who’s running for the seat
As Price announced his retirement, state Sen. Wiley Nickel, a Cary Democrat, also announced his campaign for the congressional seat. Nickel, a lawyer whose Wake County district also includes Northwest Raleigh, is serving his second term in the legislature. He previously worked in President Barack Obama’s administration. As a senator, Nickel has pushed for increased wages for state employees, adding school nurses and overturning the 1959 ban on collective bargaining for public sector employees.
Anticipating a run, Nickel has already raised about $253,000, he told The News & Observer.
“We owe Congressman David Price a debt of gratitude for his tireless service to the people of North Carolina,” Nickel told The N&O.
“If we’re going to deliver quality education and childcare to all, protect reproductive health rights and combat the climate crisis, we’ll need a proven fighter for North Carolina,” he said. Nickel said he’s fought for those issues as a state senator and is “ready to take that fight to Washington, D.C.”
Former state Sen. Floyd McKissick Jr., a Durham Democrat, could also be a contender. McKissick told The N&O on Monday that he would be “seriously interested in running for the position. The biggest question is what the district will look like.”
While congressional candidates do not have to live in their districts, McKissick wants to wait on the redistricting process to finish up in the next month. He has been interested in running for Congress for many years, he said, after serving on Durham City Council and in the state Senate. McKissick left the Senate in early 2020 to take an appointment to the N.C. Utilities Commission. He is also first vice chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party.
McKissick commended Price for his “exceptional leadership” and noted Price’s dedication and service to the Triangle and state. He said that Price has been excellent at constituent service.
Another possible candidate is state Sen. Mike Woodard, a Durham Democrat. Woodard said he is “thinking about it seriously.”
Durham County Commissioner Nida Allam also told The N&O on Monday that she is “strongly considering it.”
“I have a deep amount of respect and admiration for Rep. Price,” she said, and how much he has fought for working people, teachers, the climate and peace abroad.
She said the 4th district needs to continue his legacy with “a bold progressive who fights tooth and nail for our community.”
Allam said she is not announcing a campaign, however, and said she wanted to give space to honor and celebrate Price.
State Rep. Graig Meyer, a Hillsborough Democrat, said he is not interested in running for the seat.
“I feel quite confident that there will be a lot of qualified people who would want to run. I think it’s an opportunity for us to elect someone who is a woman or person of color and expand the diversity of who Democrats are as a whole and who represents us in Washington, D.C. It’s also a generational passing of the baton,” Meyer told The N&O on Monday.
Meyer said he’s always been impressed with how Price has a mastery of every issue before Congress and a sense of compassion about why people in the 4th District would care about it.
He noted Price’s encyclopedic knowledge of political history.
“He leads with such expertise and compassion and humility. And certainly to lose this institutional knowledge and the power he has as a senior member of Congress, those are things I think will impact the people of North Carolina,” Meyer said.
State Sen. Natalie Murdock, a Durham Democrat, said it has been an honor to work with Price, who served not just the area and state but the nation as a whole, she said.
Murdock said that Price is such a workhorse and so well respected that no matter who seeks his seat, they will have “huge, huge, huge shoes to fill.” She called him the model of a true statesman who has stayed above the “partisan fray.”
She praised his work supporting transit and pushing for the infrastructure bill.
Murdock hasn’t decided if she will run for Price’s seat, and right now is focused on her work as a state senator.
“I think like everyone else we’ll have to wait and see what the maps look like, but I definitely know it will be a very, very crowded field,” she said.
Price’s record in Congress
Price has often pushed for election-law changes and is known for the “Stand By Your Ad” law that requires candidates to identify themselves in the ads their campaigns produce.
He has also sought more transparency in college sports, sponsoring legislation to make public financial information that Division I colleges report to the NCAA. Athletic conferences, the NCAA and other entities holding postseason tournaments would also have to provide financial information.
His wife, Lisa, co-founded North Carolinians Against Gun Violence in 1993, and Price has sought legislation such as expanded background checks on gun buyers.
A former North Carolina Democratic Party chairman, Price has written four books about politics and the inner workings of the federal government, including The Congressional Experience. A fourth edition of the book, which was first published in 1992, was released this year.
Price’s congressional colleagues across the aisle praised his service to the Old North State.
Republican Rep. Richard Hudson said in a statement that Price has “served the people of North Carolina for 34 years with integrity and distinction. Though we almost never agreed on policy, David is an honest broker who I worked with many times to advance the interests of our state and nation.”
“I particularly appreciate David’s commitment to our men and women in uniform. He never turned me down when I asked for his help on behalf of our service members at Fort Bragg. Renee and I wish David and Lisa all the best as they look to begin the next chapter of their lives,” Hudson said.
U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, a Republican, called Price a “good man and public servant.”
“It has been a pleasure to serve alongside Congressman Price and work closely with him on a bipartisan basis on issues ranging from disaster recovery funding to economic development and infrastructure improvements,” Tillis said in a statement.
Price’s record in the Triangle has included support for transportation, education and affordable housing.
Price was in Carrboro with Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper earlier this month to announce federal American Rescue Plan funds that will provide grants to child care centers.
“This is critical time for North Carolina,” Price said, with vulnerabilities like gaps in caregiving infrastructure and needs for affordable child care exposed during the coronavirus pandemic. The state will get $800 million in COVID-19 relief grants for early childhood centers, The News & Observer previously reported.
Price said in a statement Monday that he leaves a “work in progress” as there is still the need “to secure long overdue investments in our transportation and housing infrastructure, child care and early childhood education and other pressing needs.”
“Looming over it all is the frightful legacy of the last four years and urgent questions about the future of our constitutional democracy,” Price said.
Price holds degrees from UNC-Chapel Hill and Yale University, and taught at Duke University before serving in Congress. He has lived in Chapel Hill since 1972.
For more North Carolina government and politics news, listen to the Under the Dome politics podcast from The News & Observer and the NC Insider. You can find it at link.chtbl.com/underthedomenc or wherever you get your podcasts.
This story was originally published October 18, 2021 at 11:26 AM.
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