(The Center Square) – In North Carolina’s only truly competitive U.S. House of Representatives race, Democratic incumbent Don Davis successfully fended off Republican challenger Laurie Buckhout.
Politicos say Davis’ moderate policies likely played a significant role in his 1st Congressional District win, which was very slight.
With 281 of 281 precincts reporting in the district, Davis prevailed by just 5,839 votes, with more than 364,000 votes cast. He won with 49% of the vote, compared to Buckhout’s 48%.
Even though Buckhout lost, she still made significant progress in the district for a Republican Party that hasn’t won an election there since 1882.
Compared to past elections, the margin between Davis and Buckhout was the smallest in decades. For example, from 2004 to 2022, Democrat G.K. Butterfield held the seat. He would regularly win by margins upward of 40%.
While redistricting played a role in the shift, Republicans have also been narrowing the Democrats’ margin since 2020. In the 2024 election cycle, it was listed as one of 37 congressional districts with a Democratic incumbent or an open seat that the National Republican Congressional Committee was targeting.
Davis first won his seat in 2022 by a margin of over 12,000 votes, or just under 5%. This time around, he had both the polling and the fundraising advantage going into Election Day.
Dallas Woodhouse, the North Carolina director for the American Majority Action, said that Davis’ moderate policies made it more difficult for Buckhout to challenge him successfully.
“The Republicans had a really good candidate and made a good show at it,” Woodhouse told The Center Square. “But Davis is a popular, moderate Democrat. He’s even popular with Republicans and he shows Democrats how they ought to be doing things.”
Buckhout, a retired Army colonel, called for a return to Trump-era energy policies, protecting women’s sports, securing the border, and “America First” economics.
Davis backed many Biden administration policies, including more clean energy alternatives, expansions to education, and more federal funding to rural North Carolina communities.
Uniquely, Davis stepped out of party lines to also support securing the border – an issue that consistently polled top three with voters.
“He is much more moderate on social issues and spending,” Woodhouse explained. “He’s still a Democrat, but he’s not as liberal.”
Dr. Tom Eamon, a professor at East Carolina University, agreed, saying that, while Davis is not conservative, he leans more moderate. He added that he expects Davis will continue to hold the district in future elections.
“There’s a history of people who get that position in that district and stay in for quite a long time,” he explained. “It could be that now Davis is in, he’ll be more difficult to challenge on future occasions.”
