The Race That Could Define Eastern NC: Don Davis vs. Laurie Buckhout in NC-1

This One Matters More Than It Gets Credit For

If you’re from Eastern North Carolina — if your family farms tobacco or sweet potatoes along the coastal plain, if you went to school in the 1st District, if your military post was somewhere between the Virginia line and the coast — this race is about you.

NC-1 is one of the most genuinely contested congressional seats in the state in 2026. It’s also one where the outcome could pivot on whether enough people in the district actually understand what’s at stake. Let me try to help with that.

Don Davis: The Hometown Incumbent With a Redistricting Problem

Don Davis is as Eastern North Carolina as it gets. Fifth-generation native. Former Air Force officer who coordinated operations at Joint Base Andrews — including Air Force One. Pastor. Mayor of Snow Hill. A decade in the NC State Senate. Now serving his second term in the U.S. House after winning re-election in 2024.

His legislative focus has matched his district: agriculture, rural broadband, veteran services. He sits on the House Agriculture Committee as Ranking Member on the commodity markets and rural development subcommittee — the exact place you’d want a northeastern NC congressman to be if your economy runs on crops and rural infrastructure.

In Congress, he’s voted for the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the CHIPS Act, and farm bill priorities. He’s supported Ukraine and Israel aid in bipartisan foreign policy votes. He won re-election in 2024 by a narrow margin — roughly two points — which tells you two things: the district is genuinely competitive, and he’s earned enough trust from constituents to hold his seat even when the headwinds were brutal.

The hard truth: Redistricting has shifted NC-1 in a direction that structurally favors Republicans. Davis is running into a math problem that didn’t exist two years ago. His incumbency and his roots matter, but the climb is harder now.

The honest gaps: His two-point win in 2024 means he has clear vulnerabilities — particularly among newer district residents who don’t have the same connection to his local roots. And while his bipartisan record is a genuine asset, it’s also made him a target from both directions in a polarized environment.

Laurie Buckhout: The Colonel Who Came Within Reach Last Time

Laurie Buckhout is not a career politician. She’s a retired U.S. Army Colonel who spent 30 years in uniform and then worked at the White House as Assistant National Cyber Director for Policy during the first Trump administration. She knows what national security looks like from the inside — not the campaign trail version, the real thing.

She came within roughly two points of beating Davis in 2024, in a race where third-party candidates collectively pulled enough votes to swing the outcome either way. She’s running again, won the 2026 GOP primary, and the district’s structural shift works in her favor this cycle.

Her campaign leans into military credentials and Trump alignment. She’s pledged to fight for safer communities and a stronger economy. Her experience developing U.S. cyber warfare strategy is genuinely relevant in a Congress that keeps having to deal with foreign interference, ransomware attacks on infrastructure, and digital threats most members can barely articulate.

The honest gaps: She has no record in elected office. Her stated policy positions beyond national security are thin in the public record. And she ran on a platform with no visible daylight between herself and the other Republicans in her primary — that level of ideological uniformity is worth weighing when you’re trying to predict how she’d actually behave in Washington.

The Question at the Heart of This Race

Both of these candidates have served the country. Both have records worth respecting. The question isn’t whether they’re patriotic — it’s whose experience and priorities best match what Eastern North Carolina actually needs right now.

Davis has proved he understands the district’s agricultural economy and has the committee position to back it up. He has bipartisan votes on his record, which matters in a swing district.

Buckhout has genuine security expertise and the structural electoral advantage. If you believe the biggest threats to Eastern NC come from federal overreach, cyber vulnerabilities, and weak borders, she makes a coherent case.

One more factor: the 2026 race, like the one before it, may come down to third-party candidates. In 2024, a Libertarian pulled enough votes in a two-point race to be genuinely decisive. Watch the full ballot before November.

What You Can Do Right Now

Don’t let somebody else decide this race for you. NC-1 is close enough that every voter in it is genuinely casting a decisive vote. That’s rare. Don’t waste it.

Look up both candidates before November:

• Don Davis: Official site | Ballotpedia
• Laurie Buckhout: Ballotpedia

Ask yourself which candidate’s priorities match where you live, what you do, and what you need from Washington. Then vote — and bring somebody with you.

Eastern NC has been overlooked before. It shouldn’t be this time.

This article is educational and nonpartisan. All facts are sourced from public records, Ballotpedia, GovTrack, and credentialed news organizations. No candidate or political organization has sponsored or reviewed this content.