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Wake County, NC ballot

Wiley Nickel

Democratic Party

District Attorney District 10 · Wake County, North Carolina · November 3, 2026

Unopposed on this ballot.

Wiley Nickel, a former U.S. Representative and state senator, is the Democratic nominee for Wake County District Attorney and is unopposed in the general election, succeeding outgoing DA Lorrin Freeman. He has centered his campaign on adding prosecutors amid office understaffing and pursuing political corruption.

What this office decides

The District Attorney for Prosecutorial District 10, which is Wake County, prosecutes state criminal cases there, from traffic and misdemeanor charges to homicides. The DA decides what to charge, which cases to divert or dismiss, and whether to seek the death penalty, and directs a staff of assistant prosecutors. Elected in a partisan race to a four-year term.

How this race lines up with you

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Dossier

Researched 2026-09-23 · Claude Code research agent with web search

Donald Trump: nothing found. No instance found of Trump commenting on Nickel in the 2026 DA race; in earlier campaigns Nickel repeatedly criticized Trump administration policies.

Who they are

Nickel is the Democratic nominee for Wake County DA (Judicial District 10) and faces no general-election opponent (WUNC). He does not hold the seat: he is a former criminal defense attorney, U.S. Representative (NC-13, 2023-2025), and NC State Senator (2019-2023) who declined re-election in 2024 (Wikipedia). Freeman, DA for over a decade, did not seek re-election (Wikipedia).

Positions

  • Crime & policing: Pledges to double the number of prosecutors amid understaffing (45 of 70 positions); platform centers on prosecuting corruption and police misconduct (WRAL).
  • Party politics in courts/agencies: Says state convictions of corrupt officials should stand despite a federal pardon (WRAL).
  • Personal freedom: No public position found.

Record

In Congress: Financial Services Committee; co-sponsored a stock-trading bill; introduced the FAIR MAPS Act; joined a Ukraine delegation (Wikipedia).

Money

Through mid-Feb. 2026 (primary), raised ~$585,000, spent ~$433,000 — more than either opponent (IndyWeek); no general-election figures found.

Recent news

  • 2026-03-03: Won the primary with 48.96% over two opponents; runs unopposed in November (WUNC).
  • 2026-07: Criticized the state budget for leaving Wake's DA office the most understaffed in NC (WRAL).

What we couldn't find

  • No stated position on personal-freedom issues; no general-election finance report; no Trump comment on Nickel found.
Sources (7)