(The Center Square) – Voting no to eliminate taxes on overtime, tips and for Social Security beneficiaries is back as a campaign issue for second term Democratic Rep. Don Davis of North Carolina.
An advertisement released Thursday by a nonprofit aligned in support of Republican challenger Laurie Buckhout, the retired Army colonel from Edenton, is part of a $1.3 million spend in the 1st Congressional District. It’s a district redrawn last October to aid Republicans’ ability to win the northeastern-most section of the state for the first time since the 1882 election – ending a 71-election losing streak.
Of 376,324 votes on Nov. 5, 2024, Davis defeated Buckhout by 6,307 – 49.5%-47.8% – in the state’s only congressional race closer than 13.5%.
This year’s battle is immensely pivotal to majority power in the U.S. House of Representatives. Republicans’ 220-215 edge won in November 2024 is today 218-212 with one independent formerly Republican caucusing with his former party, and four vacancies.
“Eastern North Carolina is hot and expensive,” says a young adult pitching himself as a four-year veteran of doing heating and air installations. “Hot is good for business. Expensive makes it hard to raise a family.
“No tax on overtime, it makes it a little bit more worth it when you have to spend a little extra time away from the family. Congressman Don Davis voted against the working families tax cuts. And that bill cut taxes on overtime, which I need to provide for my family.”
The campaign spot closes with the worker telling his audience to call Davis, the retired 1st lieutenant of the Air Force and former state senator from Snow Hill, and tell him to put working families in eastern North Carolina first.
Interestingly, on his campaign website, Davis opens with a two-paragraph pitch ending with, “Don Davis is working to make life more affordable, expand opportunity, and deliver real results for our coastal and rural communities.”
The ad plays off the roll call vote (No. 145) in the U.S. House of Representatives on May 22, 2025. That was when House Resolution 1 cleared the chamber 215-214 with Reps. Andrew Garbarino of New York and David Schweikert of Arizona not voting and Maryland Republican Rep. Andy Harris voting present.
Davis and fellow North Carolina Democratic Reps. Deborah Ross, Valerie Foushee and Alma Adams all voted against the proposal.
Second-term Republican President Donald Trump on July Fourth of last year signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act into law. Senate passage three days earlier was 51-50, with Vice President J.D. Vance delivering the tiebreaker when Republican Sens. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Susan Collins of Maine and Rand Paul of Kentucky voted nay.
Because of changes, it needed another vote from the House – and Davis again said no.
American Action Network last week said it was spending $22 million on an issue advocacy campaign throughout the nation. The Working Families Tax Cut, says the nonprofit, “delivered the largest tax cut in American history, cut taxes on tips and overtime, and lowered taxes for Social Security beneficiaries.”
The organization says, “House Democrats voted to raise taxes on working families and wasted federal money on radical priorities like taxpayer-funded sex changes for minors.”
No share of the $22 million across 41 congressional districts was greater than that afforded to help Buckhout.
“Rep. Don Davis betrayed working North Carolina families by voting against tax cuts on tips and overtime,” said AAN spokeswoman Lydia Hall. “He voted to make life even more expensive for families who are working to keep more of their hard-earned income. It’s a disgrace.”
Absentee ballots go into the mail Sept. 4 – or two weeks from this coming Friday. North Carolinians will choose a U.S. senator, all 14 members of the U.S. House, and all 170 members of the General Assembly.
