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U.S. Rep. Don Davis is claiming victory on his seat after a tight race with Republican Laurie Buckhout in the 1st District. 

Davis held a lead of 49 percent to nearly 48 percent Wednesday morning, according to unofficial North Carolina State Board of Election results. Buckhout says she is ready for a recount if the margin is thin enough.

Davis was elected to the seat in 2022, replacing retired Democratic Rep. G.K. Butterfield. Last year, Republican lawmakers drew new maps that made the district more competitive than past years. It was widely viewed as the only congressional tossup in the Southeast. 

Prior to the redistricting, the 1st District elected Biden by 8 points in 2020. Nearly 18 percent of people in the district live below the poverty line, including 25.4 percent of Black residents and 11.7 percent of white residents. Statewide, 12.8 percent of North Carolinians live in poverty.

Republican candidate Laurie Buckhout at the Veteran’s Museum in Tarboro. (Matt Ramey for The Assembly)

While the area remains heavily rural and is home to many farmers and military veterans, more suburban parts of the district in and surrounding Wilson, Rocky Mount, and Nashville have seen population growth or at least no sizable decline. The district also has the greatest share of Black residents of any House district in the state, at 40 percent, though it remains a plurality-white area. 

By several metrics, Davis has been one of the most conservative Democrats in the House. According to ProPublica, Davis ranked fifth among House Democrats in voting against his party; as of July, he broke with his party 13.7 percent of the time. GovTrack, which charts votes, rated Davis as the most conservative Democrat in the U.S. House. 

Davis walked a fine line this year as he and his supporters worked to appeal to the base while not alienating potential supporters in a now more conservative district. 

Buckhout, a retired Army colonel with no previous political experience, defeated repeat candidate Sandy Smith to win the primary. Smith took a more fiery, outspoken approach to her campaign, though both Buckhout and Smith vowed allegiance to Trump. 

Buckhout posited herself as the more stable choice in comparison to Smith, campaigning as a “Reaganesque Republican.” “I don’t do sound bites,” Buckhout said. “I’m here to govern and legislate seriously and professionally and with everything I have.”

Grace McFadden is The Assembly‘s audience editor.