Democrat Rep. Don Davis is claiming victory in North Carolina’s 1st Congressional District over Republican challenger Laurie Buckhout and will seemingly be narrowly reelected to his U.S. House seat.
In a speech early Wednesday morning in his hometown of Snow Hill, Davis told supporters, according to WRAL: “We did it. Eastern North Carolina, we’re in this fight for you. So many often feel left out and left behind. Please know that I see you and I’m glad to remain in this fight representing you.”
Considered one of the more moderate Democratic congressmen, Davis, 53, seems to have the edge over a political newcomer in Buckhout — a 62-year-old retired Army colonel and defense contract consultant from Edenton — by about 5,826 votes or 1.56%, unofficially. That’s with all precincts reporting, but with provisional ballots still to be counted.
With the margin of victory for Davis that small, the presence of a third-party candidate, Libertarian Tom Bailey, ostensibly played a significant factor in determining the outcome of the election, as he unofficially garnered 9,851 votes or 2.63%. Bailey, 74, a veteran of the Vietnam War and a retired roofing contractor, previously ran for the House seat in the 13th District in 2018, a U.S. Senate seat in 2004, and a state House seat in 2000.
In defeat, Buckhout suggested a recount.
“Like all of you, we are reviewing all the results as they come in,” Buckhout posted on X. “Once the votes have been counted, we will look at all options for getting this over and done with. If a recount is required, we will be ready.”
Whether there is margin thin enough to meet the threshold for a recount — either with 1% or less than 10,000 votes — depends on thousands of provisional ballots that have yet to be counted. It’s unclear exactly how many provisional ballots were cast in the 1st District.
Because of how North Carolina’s Republican supermajority-controlled state legislature redrew district lines, the 1st District was widely seen as a true toss-up. The only competitive U.S. House seat in North Carolina is a consequential one in determining the balance of power in Washington, D.C. It was a race that raised nearly $10 million combined from both sides.
A Republican hasn’t won the 1st District seat since 1883. Redrawn ahead of this election, it’s an area that stretches from Granville County to as far east as to Corolla on the Outer Banks, bumping up against the Virginia border to the north and going as far south as Kinston. It encompasses many of North Carolina’s so-called “Black Belt” counties and is a diverse and rural region of the state, situated mostly in the northeast corridor, and includes many minority residents, farmers and military veterans.
Beginning with former U.S. Rep. Eva Clayton, the district has been represented in Congress by a Black Democrat since 1992.
For nearly two decades, the seat was held by Democrat G.K. Butterfield, who did not seek reelection in 2022 and backed Davis as his successor. Before winning the seat in 2022 — beating Republican Sandy Smith by about 12,000 votes — Davis was a former state senator. Before joining the North Carolina legislature in 2009, Davis, a Presbyterian minister and former Air Force officer, was the mayor of his Greene County hometown of Snow Hill.
But after Davis defeated Smith, North Carolina’s state legislature redrew the district to include more Republican-leaning counties.
Earlier this year, the Lugar Center and Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy ranked Davis as the most bipartisan member of North Carolina’s congressional delegation, and the most bipartisan freshman Democrat. Just before endorsing Kamala Harris for president, Davis was one of six Democrats in July to vote for a Republican resolution condemning her — a symbolic gesture meant to criticize Harris for her role in the Biden Administration’s handling of issues on the southern border.
“What I have done is I’ve shown up to work, I’ve worked in a bipartisan way,” Davis told WUNC recently. “I’ve worked in a way of civility, treating and showing respect and dignity to others, even when we may not agree.”
In campaign ads and speeches, Buckhout and Davis tried to tie the other one to figures in their parties. Buckhout attempted to tether Davis to Harris’ economic and immigration polices, while Davis aimed to draw connections between Buckhout and Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson.
Elsewhere in North Carolina, because of partisan gerrymandering, Republicans flipped three U.S. House seats from blue to red in districts where the incumbent Democrat didn’t bother running for reelection.
In the 6th District, Addison McDowell, a health insurance lobbyist from Davidson County, succeeds Democrat Kathy Manning who didn’t seek a third term. Republican Brad Knott was elected in the 13th District, replacing one-term Democratic congressman Wiley Nickel who opted not to contend for a second term. Tim Moore, the Republican speaker of the state House, won in the 14th District — a seat held by Jeff Jackson, who was elected to the office of North Carolina’s Attorney General.
