(The Center Square) – Retired Army Col. Laurie Buckhout clipped longtime Carteret County Sheriff Asa Buck 39%-35.9% to unofficially win North Carolina’s 1st Congressional District Republican primary on Tuesday.
In a district Republicans at the General Assembly redrew in October in order to flip the seat from incumbent Rep. Don Davis, D-N.C., the two were far and away ahead of the challengers. The threshold to avoid a runoff is 30%.
Davis and Libertarian Tom Bailey of Greensboro did not face primary challengers.
Buckhout, of Edenton, and Buck, of Beaufort, were ahead of Powells Point state Sen. Bobby Hanig (16.2%), Kinston’s Eric Rouse (5.5%) and Atlantic Beach’s Ashley-Nicole Russell (4.5%).
Canvassing to make results official and determine possible run-offs is Friday of next week.
Other U.S. House primaries for Republicans were won by incumbent Reps. Virginia Foxx (5th Congressional District), David Rouzer (7th), Pat Harrigan (10th), Chuck Edwards (11th), Brad Knott (13th) and Tim Moore (14th). In the 12th, Jack Codiga defeated Addul Ali 67%-33% to earn a spot against Democratic incumbent Rep. Alma Adams.
Last time Republicans won the district in the northeastern-most corner of the state was 1882. The seat is pivotal to U.S. House of Representatives majority. The split after the November 2024 election cycle was 220-215 Republicans; today, it is 218-214 with three vacancies.
As newly constructed in the Realign Congressional Districts 2025, known also as Senate Bill 249, six counties were moved from the 3rd Congressional District to the 1st Congressional District. Four counties went from the 1st to the 3rd. In the reconstruction, Republicans said their hope was to gain another seat – they have 10 to Democrats’ four in the 119th Congress – in the U.S. House.
The moves are believed to give strength to Republicans in the 1st while not taking too much of theirs away in the 3rd.
Buckhout, then endorsed by Donald Trump as he campaigned for a second term as president, was defeated by Davis 49.5%-47.8% two years ago in the state’s only U.S. House race closer than 13%. She’s campaigned on a secure border; economy; protection of the 2nd Amendment; support of the nation’s military; veterans; and American leadership in technology and artificial intelligence.
Buck, retiring from a sheriff’s post he’s held since 2006, made lower taxes, limits on government, and constitutional freedoms his primary focus on the campaign trail.
Hanig’s campaign was backboned in fiscal responsibility, economic growth, public safety and “values that make North Carolian strong.” The two-term state senator and former two-term member of the state House advocated for farmers, public education, smart energy policy, and government efficiency.
Rouse, a Lenoir County commissioner since 2010, focused on alignment with Trump in connection to helping protect and promote American jobs; secure borders; and putting “an end to wokeness that’s poisoning our schools and our country.”
Russell, a newcomer to seeking public political office, campaigned on the economy and cost of living; balanced budgeting; term limits; secure borders; protection of children and families; and defending the Second Amendment without compromise.
