Five candidates are running in the Democratic primary election for North Carolina’s 13th Congressional District on May 17, 2022. Incumbent Rep. Ted Budd (R) announced on April 28, 2021, that he would not seek re-election and instead run for U.S. Senate.
Two candidates—Wiley Nickel and Sam Searcy—have led the field in fundraising and media coverage.
Searcy is a former state senator who represented District 17 from 2019-2021. He resigned at the start of his second term when Gov. Roy Cooper (D) appointed Searcy to serve on the State Board of Community Colleges. Searcy is also a business owner, having founded Graybeard Distillery and CliniStart, a company that assists with contracts in clinical research. Searcy described his candidacy, saying, “Families here deserve a representative who knows what a reliable local job, quality education, and just a little bit more financial security can mean for a family, and who will fight for them every single day.”
