After a year in the state Senate, Durhamites still approve of Sophia Chitlik.
“I feel so grateful,” she said in a phone call. “I feel so grateful to Durham for an overwhelming victory.”
Chitlik was challenged in the Democratic primary by former City Council member DeDreana Freeman, a community leader since 2007. Chitlik moved to Durham in 2017, and she ousted former state Sen. Mike Woodard in 2024.
On Tuesday, Chitlik won 66% of the vote from District 22, while Freeman earned 34%.
Chitlik was “running positive” in this campaign, she said in an interview. She scored big endorsements from the People’s Alliance and the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People PACs, as well as local organizations and 20 former and current elected officials. She brought snacks to polling sites during early voting and stayed longer at one location each day to engage with voters, she said.
Up at 5:30 a.m., Chitlik spent Tuesday visiting more polling sites and chatting with constituents. She brought her son to some sites, and her parents, aunt and friends were volunteers.
“Today was great,” she said. “Really high energy, really amazing turnout…which I love to see. I think what we are seeing is absolutely the makings of a blue wave.”
On the trail and in her December constituent report, she emphasized her progressive policies for women, children and families and her responsiveness to constituents. She has brought energy and coalition-building to the General Assembly in her first term, according to colleagues. She passed an amendment to avoid delays in childcare center openings, and she voted to uphold Gov. Josh Stein’s veto across the board — a promise from her 2024 bid to unseat Woodard.
Freeman lost her City Council seat in November after controversy around combative exchanges with Mark-Anthony Middleton in 2023 and Nida Allam in August 2025, but she has since defended her passionate style.
Chitlik and Freeman, both mothers, stressed the need for care in this political environment during their campaigns.
“All of the ideas aren’t going to come from us, but if we’re working together and we’re navigating these spaces in a way that makes it…respectful of our own humankind, I think that we’ll all be much better off,” Freeman said in a Feb. 3 Durham Democrats event.
As the legislature approaches the short session, Chitlik says she will be going on “listening tours” to consult policy experts and local nonprofits. Policy-wise, she will be promoting child care subsidies, immigration enforcement liability and transparency, and greater state-level disaster resilience outside of FEMA.
“I didn’t make up this agenda,” she said. “This comes from our community. And so, my goal has always been to be a conduit for policy, and I want to continue to do that. I want to continue to get better at it. I want more people to be involved in it.”
“I don’t take anything for granted, so I will run a campaign,” she said, looking to November 2026, where she will face Republican candidate Lakeshia Alston. She will prioritize increasing voter turnout through collaborations with Durham Democrats and Durham Delivers.
She sees the state Senate District 26 seat as a pivotal opportunity. The seat is now held by President Pro Tempore Phil Berger, but local sheriff Sam Page is challenging him in a race with extremely narrow margins.
“That opens up enormous fundraising and electoral possibility for Senate Democrats, and I want to be a big part of the engine that helps us hold two seats and flip two to three seats. We can do that,” she said.
Sophie Endrud
