RALEIGH — North Carolina Congressman Don Davis (D-Snow Hill) made it official last week that he will be seeking reelection to his current 1st Congressional District seat.
“Many feel Washington, D.C., isn’t serving their needs, and the redistricting battle clearly proves it,” Davis wrote in an X post. “I’m running in NC-01 to ensure everyone, from the northeast to the coast, has a powerful voice in Congress. We’re in this fight together!”
Punch Bowl News broke the story Dec. 1, noting redistricting by the state legislature that resulted in a new congressional map being drawn and passed by legislators in October. Only two districts were altered: Davis’ district and the 3rd District seat currently held by Rep. Greg Murphy’s (R-Greenville).
George Papastrat and Christopher Schulte, both Onslow County Democrats, have said they will file to challenge Murphy, as well as Austin Ayers, an independent.
Following several legal challenges, the new map was approved in late November by a federal three-judge panel.
Punch Bowl News also noted that under the new map, President Donald Trump “carried the district by 11 points,” whereas the previous map he won the district by three points. The 1st District seat was already considered vulnerable prior to the 2025 map changes.
“Career politician Don Davis will lose because eastern North Carolina is sick of his self-serving, two-faced politics,” National Republican Congressional Committee Spokesman Reilly Richardson said in a statement.
Davis was reelected for a second time in a tight race against Republican Laurie Buckhout in 2024. He was first elected to the seat in 2022 after being backed by the seat’s former occupant, Democrat G.K. Butterfield, who was retiring.
Republicans planning to run for Davis’ seat include Carteret County Sheriff Asa Buck, statehouse Sen. Bobby Hanig (R-Currituck), Rocky Mount Mayor Sandy Roberson, Lenoir County Board of Commissioners Vice Chair Eric Rouse and eastern North Carolina attorney Ashley-Nicole Russell.
Candidate filing began on Dec. 1 and runs through Dec. 19.
Candidate lists are updated regularly and can be accessed at ncsbe.gov/results-data/candidate-lists.
