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Davis seeking second congressional term in northeast NC [1]
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Date: 2023-12-04 13:03:00-05:00
U.S. Rep. Don Davis, a centrist Democrat representing northeast North Carolina will run for re-election, he announced Monday. He likely faces a difficult race in North Carolina's only congressional swing district, which will draw millions in campaign funding and national attention.
Davis, a former state senator and mayor of Snow Hill, is in his first term. He district was redrawn earlier this year as North Carolina's Republican-controlled General Assembly reworked a Congressional map that produced a 7-7 split between Democratic and Republican U.S. House members into a map likely to elect 10 Republicans and three Democrats, with Davis' district in play for both parties.
That Congressional map was challenged Monday in a federal lawsuit that argues Davis' 1st District, and other districts, are racial gerrymanders meant to sap the power of minority voters to elect their preferred candidates.
The lawsuit could force another redraw and delay the 2024 elections, but that would require a federal judge to issue a court order, and these elections may simply move forward under the current map while the lawsuit is tried.
The new 1st District leans Democratic, based on the results of recent elections, but barely. For years this rural district was a Democratic stronghold represented by one of the state's few Black members of Congress. Now it's so tight that Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Budd won the district last year with 52% of the vote. Two years before, President Joe Biden won it with just over 50%.
"It's definitely not (former U.S. Reps.) Eva Clayton and G.K. Butterfield's seat anymore," said Derick Smith, a political science lecturer at Fayetteville State University. "It's a lot more competitive. It's going to be difficult, I think, for him to retain that seat."
Western Carolina University political science professor Chris Cooper said Davis has the advantage of incumbency, but that advantage may be smaller than normal, because the redraw brought communities into the district that he doesn't currently represent. Davis won the seat in 2022 with 52% of the vote against a Republican endorsed by former President Donald Trump.
At least one Republican has announced for the seat in 2024: Laurie Buckhout, a retired U.S. Army colonel who founded an electronic warfare consultancy. She has promised to put $1 million of her own money into the race.
In his announcement Monday, Davis said he was rated as one of the most bipartisan members of the current Congress, a reputation he also held in the North Carolina Senate, where he served six terms.
“Far too long, the voices of the East – some of our most rural communities and small towns – have gone unheard,” Davis said in his announcement. "In the 118th Congress, I've worked tirelessly to bring attention and resources to our part of the state regardless of political affiliation. I’m proud to say we’ve made progress, such as securing crucial funding for infrastructure development, advancing policies that support our military families, and fighting for fair agricultural practices that benefit our local farmers. But our work is far from finished.”
Filing in this race, and other 2024 races, opened today at noon. It will wrap up at noon on Dec. 15.
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[1] Url:
https://www.wral.com/story/davis-seeking-second-congressional-term-in-northeast-nc/21180138/
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