CQ Risk Rating: Democrat Favored 
| GENERAL ELECTION: NOVEMBER 7, 2000 |
|
| David E. Price (D) | 200,885 | 62% |
| Jess Ward (R) | 119,412 | 37% |
| C. Brian Towey (LIBERT) | 5,573 | 2% |
| PRIMARY ELECTION: MAY 2, 2000 |
|
| | Votes | Percentage | | Democratic |
| David E. Price | 56,886 | 89% |
| John W. Winters Jr. | 6,919 | 11% |
| | Republican |
| Jess Ward | Unopposed |
Source: Congressional Quarterly. To suggest updates and corrections: politics.feedback@cq.com
Major Industry | Population | Cities | People | Race | Median Household Income | Unusual Features
NORTH CAROLINA 4
:
Central - Durham; Chapel Hill; part of Raleigh
With more than three-fourths of the district's population living in
Durham and Wake counties, to understand the 4th is to understand Research
Triangle Park. The medical and technological research park was created in
the 1950s by a group of academics, politicians and businessmen who saw the
need to diversify the state's economy beyond the traditional tobacco and
textile industries. To tap the brainpower of the three surrounding
universities - Duke U. (Durham), the U. of North Carolina (Chapel Hill) and
North Carolina State U. (Raleigh) - the park was located in the center of
the triangle the schools create.
As the park grew, especially in the 1980s, the Durham of James B. Duke's
Lucky Strike cigarettes largely disappeared. And as developers began
converting tobacco warehouses into apartment buildings, concerns over
quality-of-life issues arose. While the district leans strongly to the left,
these highly educated voters can be independent-minded, especially on
education and transportation issues. Redistricting for the election that
began the 106th Congress changed little of the 4th's political bent.
Although it cut out the eastern, more Democratic, half of Raleigh's Wake
County, it replaced it with all of Democratic Durham. The percentage of
blacks rose only one point, from 20 to 21.
Based halfway between the ocean and the Blue Ridge mountains, the
district spreads west from the Triangle, passing through rolling hills of
evergreen forests to take in the rural, small-town speckled counties of
Person, Chatham and Orange. Many upwardly mobile, politically swinging
bedroom communities, such as Cary, also circle the Triangle.
Major Industry
Technology research, higher education
Population
551,842 (1990)
Cities
Durham, 149,799 (1996); Raleigh (pt.), 99,973 (1990); Cary, 75,676; Chapel
Hill, 44,244 (1996)
People
72% urban; 9% age 65+ (ranks 12 of 12 in state; bottom third nationally)
(1990)
Race
76% white, 21% black, 2% Asian; 1% Hispanic origin (1990)
Median Household Income
Not available for this newly redrawn district.
Unusual Features
Home to the Durham Bulls baseball team; The 1988 movie, "Bull Durham,"
starring Kevin Costner, was filmed here.
Source: Congressional Quarterly (Updated April 1999)
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District 4
