NC’s Jeff Jackson, Wiley Nickel, Don Davis go to Congress

Newly elected Rep. Jeff Jackson said walking into the U.S. Capitol last week was like being “in a wax museum come to life.”

Jackson spent the majority of the week in Washington for freshman orientation. He had only visited the Capitol once before — during his campaign.

“I’ve followed national politics for years but most of the people I’m meeting now are people I’ve only known as two-dimensional characters in our national political drama, and my image of them is built from snippets on TV and quotes in the newspaper and tweets and ads,” Jackson said. “To be suddenly shaking hands with them as they welcomed me into the building we will work in together was pretty strange.”

He added that all of them were “exceptionally nice.”

North Carolina voters promoted five of their state senators to represent them in the U.S. House of Representatives: Jackson, Wiley Nickel, Don Davis, Valerie Foushee and Chuck Edwards. The latter two did not answer phone calls seeking comment for this article.

All five of them posted photos on social media from their week at the Capitol. The photos showed them smiling with the nation’s leaders. Nickel posted a photo of himself standing on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office balcony that overlooks the National Mall. A group photo on the building’s steps showed the five of them near one another for the official freshman class photo.

“Every time I see the Capitol it brings chills to me and a strong sense of pride in our country,” Davis said. “To step foot into the chamber, which we had an opportunity to do, it reassured me of the voices of the American people and the significance of our history. It inspired me even more so to treasure the responsibility granted to me by the people of Eastern North Carolina.”

For the Democrats, which includes everyone but Edwards, their week began with a dinner hosted by Rep. Steny Hoyer, a Democrat from Maryland.

But the following morning the real work began: orientation.

Technology, security and coffee

Nickel, who will represent parts of the Triangle, said he and members of his staff were immediately handed encrypted cell phones, laptops and tablets.

Jackson, a tech whiz, had to stifle a laugh when he was asked if he needed help with his.

“When they gave me my laptop at orientation, they…