RALEIGH — North Carolina statehouse Rep. Ted Davis (R-New Hanover) will retire at the end of his term in 2026.
Davis, who is in the middle of his eighth term in the House, sits on the high-profile appropriations, elections and education committees, as well as the House rules committee.
New Hanover County Commissioner Dane Scalise, a Republican, will seek Davis’ House District 20 seat in 2026 and was recruited by Davis to run.
Davis, who has spent 30 years in public service, has a lengthy resume that includes a dozen awards, recognitions and civic activity. His political background includes serving four terms as a New Hanover County commissioner (1996, 2000, 2004, 2008) and holding the role of chairman five times (2000, 2001, 2002, 2008 and 2011).
In 2012, Davis was appointed to fill the remainder of the term for Rep. Danny McComas, who, before redistricting, represented District 19. He successfully ran to keep the seat each election cycle since.
Davis was also an assistant New Hanover County attorney, assistant state district attorney and assistant U.S. attorney until he went into private law practice in 1984. He received his law degree from Wake Forest University Law School and earned a political science degree from UNC Chapel Hill.
The longtime New Hanover representative and his wife, Jane, currently reside in Wilmington and have two adult children and several grandchildren.
“Ted Davis is the absolute man. He has fought so hard for our community during his 30 distinguished years in public office,” Scalise wrote in a Facebook post. “He recently told me he is retiring and asked me to step up to continue fighting for District 20 in his place. I agreed.
“Why should you vote for me? Because I’m a fighter. Because I don’t take no for an answer. This district deserves the best. I will deliver it.”
“I’m very excited about our campaign to represent New Hanover County’s House District 20 in Raleigh,” Scalise told North State Journal. “Rep. Davis has been a tremendous advocate, and I am grateful for his support.
“Life isn’t very affordable right now, and I’m going to do everything I can as a representative to help lower the cost of life’s essentials, keep more money in the pockets of our citizens, and get more infrastructure and school funding for our community. I’ll also fight to keep common sense in and nonsense out of state government.”
Scalise won election to the New Hanover County Commission in the November 2024 election, edging out Democrat Jonathan Barfield from the top three vote-getters by just 245 votes. He ran for the seat after being appointed in April 2023 to fill the vacancy left by the death of Commissioner Deb Hayes.
According to the Civitas Partisan Index, District 20 has a plus 4 Republican rating and is listed as “lean Republican.”
Candidate filing for 2026 starts on Dec. 1 and ends at noon on Dec. 19.
Races with primaries will be held on Mar. 3, 2026, and the general election is on Nov. 3.
