Wiley Nickel

2018

Nickel was first elected to represent the 16th senate district with over 65% of the vote on November 6, 2018.^[21] He held a seat that had been opened when incumbent Jay Chaudhuri was redistricted into the neighboring 15th district.^[22] His victory helped to break the Republican supermajority in the North Carolina General Assembly, flipping one of six Republican Senate seats from red to blue.^[23][24][25]

2020

Nickel ran for reelection in 2020. He was unopposed in the Democratic primary^[21] and defeated Republican nominee Will Marsh with 65.6% of the vote.^[26] He was endorsed by The News & Observer.^[27]

2019–20 session

Nickel was appointed to the Agriculture/Environment/Natural Resources Committee, the Pensions/Retirement/Aging Committee and the Education/Higher Education Appropriations Committee on January 18, 2019.^[28] He co-sponsored a bill to restore master's degree and doctoral degree pay for teachers in North Carolina.^[29]

Nickel co-sponsored Senate Bill 209, which would increase the scope and punishment of hate crimes and require the SBI to maintain and create a hate crimes statistics database. He spoke about SB 209 during a candlelight vigil at the Islamic Center of Cary to remember the New Zealand terror attack victims.^[30]

During his tenure in the North Carolina State Senate, Wiley Nickel was a strong supporter of organized labor and introduced legislation to repeal the state's longstanding prohibition on public-sector collective bargaining, a restriction widely viewed as a legacy of the Jim Crow era.^[31]

2021–22 session

Nickel served on the Redistricting and Elections Committee, the Judiciary Committee, the Pensions/Retirement/Aging Committee, and the Appropriations on General Government/Information Technology Committee in the state senate.^[32]

Nickel pushed for reforms to North Carolina’s unemployment insurance system, describing it as among the weakest in the nation and co-sponsoring legislation to increase weekly benefits and extend their duration for unemployed workers.^[33][34]

During the 2021–2022 legislative session, Nickel emphasized bipartisan cooperation, highlighting work on issues such as Medicaid expansion, broadband access, and economic policy, and urged bipartisanship in a farewell press conference at the conclusion of his term.^[35]

2022

Nickel ran for Congress in North Carolina's newly drawn 13th congressional district. The district covers southern Wake County, all of Johnston County, and parts of Wayne and Harnett Counties. Nickel won the Democratic nomination.^[36]

The conservative Carolina Journal wrote that Nickel ran "as a moderate despite a fairly left-wing voting record".^[37]

Nickel was endorsed by the Network for Public Education Fund,^[38][39] the North Carolina Association of Educators,^[40] NARAL Pro-Choice America,^[41] Communication Workers of America,^[42] the North Carolina State AFL-CIO,^[43][44] the National Association of Social Workers,^[45] Human Rights Campaign,^[46][47] Everytown for Gun Safety,^[48] the League of Conservation Voters,^[49] the Voter Protection Project,^[50][51] the Sierra Club,^[52] Equality North Carolina,^[53] the North Carolina Alliance for Retired Americans,^[54] North Carolina Asian Americans Together in Action,^[55] and Professional Fire Fighters and Paramedics of North Carolina.^[45]

Nickel defeated Bo Hines, the Republican nominee, in the November 8 general election.^[4] The race was closely contested and drew significant attention as one of the most competitive congressional districts in the country. Nickel won with just over 51 percent of the vote, prevailing in a district that included both suburban Triangle-area communities and more rural regions of central North Carolina.^[56] His victory resulted in a partisan shift in the district, with Democrats gaining the seat as one of only six seats nationwide to flip from red to blue.

2023

Nickel was sworn in as the U.S. representative for North Carolina's 13th congressional district in January, 2023.^[57]

Nickel served on the House Financial Services Committee.^[58] The committee is among the most influential standing committees in the U.S. House of Representatives, with jurisdiction over banking, housing, insurance, and financial markets. Assignment to this exclusive committee is typically limited due to its broad jurisdiction over major economic and housing policy areas. Nickel was one of only two freshman Democrats appointed to one of the Big Four House Committees (Appropriations, Ways & Means, Energy & Commerce and Financial Services).

2024

In April 2024, Nickel introduced the Fair and Impartial Redistricting for Meaningful and Accountable Political Systems (FAIR MAPS) Act, legislation designed to combat partisan gerrymandering by establishing independent, nonpartisan redistricting commissions nationwide. The proposal was introduced in response to ongoing disputes over congressional maps, including in North Carolina.^[59]

In 2024, Nickel traveled to Ukraine as part of a bipartisan congressional delegation, where he met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and received briefings from Ukrainian officials and military personnel during the ongoing Russian invasion. Following the visit, Nickel called for continued U.S. assistance to Ukraine and urged Congress to pass additional aid, stating that delays would weaken Ukraine’s position in the conflict with Russia.^[60]

Nickel retired after one term leaving office in January 2025, with plans of running in 2026 for US Senate.^[61][5]