{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nGeorge Wilmarth \"Wiley\" Nickel III is the Democratic candidate for District Attorney of Wake County (Prosecutorial District 10). He won the Democratic primary on March 3, 2026, receiving 49 percent of the vote in a three-candidate race against Melanie Shekita and Sherita Walton. He is running unopposed in the November 2026 general election, as no Republican filed for the seat.\n\nNickel has stated he is running to \"increase support for police and first responders and to make sure our justice system is more fair, more accountable, and more focused on real public safety.\" He has pledged to prosecute political corruption, establish a full-time mental health court for Wake County, and secure additional funding for the district attorney's office.\n\n## Background and education\nNickel was born on November 23, 1975, in Fresno, California. He graduated from Francis W. Parker School in Chicago and earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Tulane University. He received his Juris Doctor from Pepperdine University School of Law in 2005.\n\n## Career\nNickel worked on Vice President Al Gore's advance staff from 1996 to 2001 and contributed to Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign. He established a criminal defense law practice in Cary, North Carolina, in 2011. He served in the North Carolina State Senate representing the 16th district from 2019 to 2023. He then represented North Carolina's 13th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2023 to 2025, choosing not to seek re-election in 2024 following unfavorable redistricting. In April 2025, he launched a campaign for the U.S. Senate but withdrew in July 2025 after former Governor Roy Cooper entered the race. He announced his candidacy for Wake County District Attorney in September 2025.\n\n## Family\nNickel married Caroline in 2007 and they have two children.\n\n## Sources\n- [1] [Former Rep. Wiley Nickel is running to become the top prosecutor in North Carolina's largest county \u2013 WUNC](https://www.wunc.org/politics/2025-09-16/wiley-nickel-wake-county-district-attorney-race)\n- [2] [Wiley Nickel wins Democratic primary for Wake County District Attorney \u2013 WUNC](https://www.wunc.org/politics/2026-03-04/wiley-nickel-wins-wake-county-district-attorney)\n- [3] [Wiley Nickel \u2013 Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiley_Nickel)\n- [4] [Former Congressman Wiley Nickel cruises to win primary for Wake County DA \u2013 NC Newsline](https://ncnewsline.com/2026/03/03/former-congressman-wiley-nickel-cruises-to-win-primary-for-wake-county-district-attorney/)\n","campaigns":[{"contest":"district_attorney_dist_010","county":"wake","county_count":1,"electiondate":"Tue, 03 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"general","state":"NC","title":"District Attorney District 10"},{"contest":"district_attorney_dist_010","county":null,"county_count":0,"electiondate":"Tue, 03 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT","pgr":"general","state":"NC","title":"District Attorney District 10"}],"cf_filings":[],"firstname":"George","fullname":"George Wilmarth Nickel III","lastname":"Nickel","middlename":"Wilmarth","office_history":[{"campaigns":[{"contest":"district_attorney_dist_010","contest_title":"District Attorney District 10","county":"wake","county_count":1,"electiondate":"2026-11-03","office_county":null,"office_key":"district_attorney","office_title":"District Attorney","party":"DEM","pgr":"general","state":"NC"},{"contest":"district_attorney_dist_010","contest_title":"District Attorney District 10","county":null,"county_count":0,"electiondate":"2026-03-03","office_county":null,"office_key":"district_attorney","office_title":"District Attorney","party":"DEM","pgr":"general","state":"NC"}],"county":null,"cycles":[{"general":{"contest":"district_attorney_dist_010","contest_title":"District Attorney District 10","county":null,"county_count":0,"electiondate":"2026-03-03","office_county":null,"office_key":"district_attorney","office_title":"District Attorney","party":"DEM","pgr":"general","state":"NC"},"party":"DEM","primary":null,"term":null,"year":2026}],"office_key":"district_attorney","office_title":"District Attorney","state":"NC","terms":[]}],"suffix":"III","summary":"Wiley Nickel (George Wilmarth Nickel III) is a former US Representative and North Carolina State Senator from Cary, NC, now running for Wake County District Attorney.","terms":[],"token":"e758d9c2c1c9aff1"}