North Carolina's 1st Congressional District election, 2024

	2026 → ← 2022
North Carolina's 1st Congressional District
	Democratic primary; Republican primary; General election
Election details
	Filing deadline: December 15, 2023
	Primary: March 5, 2024; Primary runoff: May 14, 2024; General: November 5, 2024
How to vote
	Poll times: 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.; Voting in North Carolina
Race ratings
	Cook Political Report: Toss-up; DDHQ and The Hill: Lean Democratic; Inside Elections: Tilt Democratic; Sabato's Crystal Ball: Lean Democratic
Ballotpedia analysis
	U.S. Senate battlegrounds; U.S. House battlegrounds; Federal and state primary competitiveness; Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2024
See also
	North Carolina's 1st Congressional District; 1st • 2nd • 3rd • 4th • 5th • 6th • 7th • 8th • 9th • 10th • 11th • 12th • 13th • 14th; North Carolina elections, 2024; U.S. Congress elections, 2024; U.S. Senate elections, 2024; U.S. House elections, 2024; Alabama U.S. House racesAlaska U.S. House racesArizona U.S. House racesArkansas U.S. House racesCalifornia U.S. House racesColorado U.S. House racesConnecticut U.S. House racesDelaware U.S. House racesFlorida U.S. House racesGeorgia U.S. House racesHawaii U.S. House racesIdaho U.S. House racesIllinois U.S. House racesIndiana U.S. House racesIowa U.S. House racesKansas U.S. House racesKentucky U.S. House racesLouisiana U.S. House racesMaine U.S. House racesMaryland U.S. House racesMassachusetts U.S. House racesMichigan U.S. House racesMinnesota U.S. House racesMississippi U.S. House racesMissouri U.S. House racesMontana U.S. House racesNebraska U.S. House racesNevada U.S. House racesNew Hampshire U.S. House racesNew Jersey U.S. House racesNew Mexico U.S. House racesNew York U.S. House racesNorth Carolina U.S. House racesNorth Dakota U.S. House racesOhio U.S. House racesOklahoma U.S. House racesOregon U.S. House racesPennsylvania U.S. House racesRhode Island U.S. House racesSouth Carolina U.S. House racesSouth Dakota U.S. House racesTennessee U.S. House racesTexas U.S. House racesUtah U.S. House racesVermont U.S. House racesVirginia U.S. House racesWashington U.S. House racesWest Virginia U.S. House racesWisconsin U.S. House racesWyoming U.S. House racesSubmit

North Carolina 2024 elections

U.S. House • Governor • Lt. Gov • Attorney General • Secretary of State • State executive offices • State Senate • State House • Supreme court • Appellate courts • State ballot measures • Local ballot measures • School boards • Municipal • All other local • How to run for office

Incumbent Donald Davis (D) defeated Laurie Buckhout (R) and Tom Bailey (L) in the general election for North Carolina's 1st Congressional District on November 5, 2024.

Davis was elected in 2022 with 52.4% of the vote. Before that, G. K. Butterfield (D) had represented the district since 2004. Heading into the 2024 election, a Democrat had represented the district since 1899.

Before he was elected to Congress, Davis was a member of the North Carolina State Senate, representing District 5 from 2009 to 2011 and again from 2013 to 2023. He served in the U.S. Air Force and reached the rank of captain. Davis’ campaign focused on rebuilding the rural economy in the district. He said, “We’re fighting every single day in particular for our farmers. One of the highest priorities I have and continue to focus on is safeguarding the American people and especially those in Eastern North Carolina.”^[1] Based on third quarter reports filed with the Federal Election Commission, Davis raised $5.6 million and spent $3.8 million.

Buckhout served in the U.S. Army, where she reached the rank of colonel. After leaving the Army, she founded Corvus Consulting. Buckhout’s campaign focused on supporting working families in the district. She said, “I am ready and able to take on Don Davis to fight for working families in NC-01 by securing our borders, stopping Joe Biden’s reckless spending, and fighting for the America First Agenda that protects and promotes American jobs.”^[1] Based on third quarter reports filed with the Federal Election Commission, Buckhout raised $4.3 million and spent $3.7 million.

Before the election, major election forecasters differed in their ratings for the general election, with one rating it a toss-up, one rating it Tilt Democratic, and two rating it Lean Democratic.

This was one of 13 districts won by Donald Trump (R) in the 2024 presidential election and by a Democratic candidate in the U.S. House election. To read more, click here.

North Carolina's 1st Congressional District was one of 37 congressional districts with a Democratic incumbent or an open seat that the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) targeted in 2024. To read about NRCC targeting initiatives, click here. For a complete list of NRCC targeted districts, click here.

The outcome of this race affected the partisan balance of the U.S. House of Representatives in the 119th Congress. All 435 House districts were up for election.

At the time of the election, Republicans held a 220-212 majority with three vacancies.^[2] As a result of the election, Republicans retained control of the U.S. House, winning 220 seats to Democrats' 215.^[3] To read more about the 2024 U.S. House elections, click here.

In the 2022 election in this district, the Democratic candidate won 52.4%-47.6%. Daily Kos calculated what the results of the 2020 presidential election in this district would have been following redistricting. Joe Biden (D) would have defeated Donald Trump (R) 50.4%-48.8%.^[4]

For more information about the primaries in this election, click on the links below:

Candidates and election results

General election

General election for U.S. House North Carolina District 1

Incumbent Donald Davis defeated Laurie Buckhout and Tom Bailey in the general election for U.S. House North Carolina District 1 on November 5, 2024.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Donald Davis (D)	49.5	186,341
	Laurie Buckhout (R)	47.8	180,034
	Tom Bailey (L)	2.6	9,949

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 376,324
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

John Schaffer (Independent)

Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. Incumbent Donald Davis advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House North Carolina District 1.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Brian Moutoux (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House North Carolina District 1

Laurie Buckhout defeated Sandy Smith in the Republican primary for U.S. House North Carolina District 1 on March 5, 2024.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Laurie Buckhout	53.5	33,893
	Sandy Smith	46.5	29,471

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 63,364
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Christine Villaverde (R)
Fred Von Canon (R)

Libertarian primary election

The Libertarian primary election was canceled. Tom Bailey advanced from the Libertarian primary for U.S. House North Carolina District 1.

Voting information

See also: Voting in North Carolina

Election information in North Carolina: Nov. 5, 2024, election.

What was the voter registration deadline?

In-person: Nov. 2, 2024
By mail: Postmarked by Oct. 11, 2024
Online: Oct. 11, 2024

Was absentee/mail-in voting available to all voters?

Yes

What was the absentee/mail-in ballot request deadline?

In-person: Oct. 29, 2024
By mail: Received by Oct. 29, 2024
Online: Oct. 29, 2024

What was the absentee/mail-in ballot return deadline?

In-person: Nov. 5, 2024
By mail: Received by Nov. 5, 2024

Was early voting available to all voters?

Yes

What were the early voting start and end dates?

Oct. 17, 2024 to Nov. 2, 2024

Were all voters required to present ID at the polls? If so, was a photo or non-photo ID required?

N/A

When were polls open on Election Day?

6:30 a.m. - 7:30 p.m. (EST)

Candidate comparison

Candidate profiles

This section includes candidate profiles that may be created in one of two ways: either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, or Ballotpedia staff may compile a profile based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements after identifying the candidate as noteworthy. For more on how we select candidates to include, click here.

Donald Davis

Party: Democratic Party

Incumbent: Yes

Political Office:

North Carolina State Senate District 5 (2009-2011, 2013-2023)

Mayor, Snow Hill (2001-2008)

Biography: Davis served in the U.S. Air Force and reached the rank of captain. His career experience included working as a college instructor, admissions advisor, and lay minister.

Key Messages

The following key messages were curated by Ballotpedia staff. For more on how we identify key messages, click here.

One of Davis' focuses was rebuilding the rural economy. He said he "advocates for action to bring back good-paying jobs, support small businesses, and bolster North Carolina’s agriculture."

Davis campaigned for accessible healthcare, especially for the area's elderly population. He was "committed to making accessible, quality healthcare available to every person."

Davis was committed to helping veterans and military families. He wanted to improve "veterans' education, career training, health, and housing assistance because he knows firsthand their struggles."

Show sources

Sources: Donald Davis 2024 campaign website, "Priorities," accessed July 13, 2024; Donald Davis 2024 campaign website, "Meet Don," accessed July 13, 2024

This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House North Carolina District 1 in 2024.

Laurie Buckhout

Party: Republican Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Biography: Buckhout served in the U.S. Army, reaching the rank of Colonel. After leaving the military, Buckhout founded her own business.

Key Messages

The following key messages were curated by Ballotpedia staff. For more on how we identify key messages, click here.

Buckhout focused on securing the border. She was a "strong advocate for securing our border by building the wall and reimplementing the 'Remain in Mexico' policies of the Trump Administration."

Buckhout said "rural communities like ours have seen the devastating effects of outsourcing good jobs" and that she would "fight to bring back jobs here in rural communities."

Buckhout emphasized her experience as a combat veteran. She said she "understands the vital importance of the right to keep and bear arms" and that she would "stand strong against the extremists who mock our hunting heritage and would punish law-abiding gun owners with additional red tape."

Show sources

Sources: Laurie Buckhout 2024 campaign website, "Issues," accessed July 13, 2024; Laurie Buckhout 2024 campaign website, "About," accessed July 13, 2024

This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House North Carolina District 1 in 2024.

Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses

Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

No candidate in this race completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey.

Campaign ads

This section includes a selection of up to three campaign advertisements per candidate released in this race, as well as links to candidates' YouTube, Vimeo, and/or Facebook video pages. If you are aware of other links that should be included, please email us.

Davis

Ballotpedia did not come across any campaign ads for Don Davis while conducting research on this election. If you are aware of any ads that should be included, please email us.

Buckhout

Ballotpedia did not come across any campaign ads for Laurie Buckhout while conducting research on this election. If you are aware of any ads that should be included, please email us.

Election competitiveness

Polls

See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls

We provide results for polls that are included in polling aggregation from FiveThirtyEight and RealClearPolitics, when available. No polls were available for this election. To notify us of polls published in this election, please email us.

Race ratings

See also: Race rating definitions and methods

Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:

Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.^[5]
Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.

Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.^[6]^[7]^[8]

Race ratings: North Carolina's 1st Congressional District election, 2024
Race tracker	Race ratings
	November 5, 2024	October 29, 2024	October 22, 2024	October 15, 2024
The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter	Toss-up	Toss-up	Toss-up	Toss-up
Decision Desk HQ and The Hill	Lean Democratic	Lean Democratic	Lean Democratic	Lean Democratic
Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales	Tilt Democratic	Tilt Democratic	Tilt Democratic	Tilt Democratic
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball	Lean Democratic	Lean Democratic	Toss-up	Toss-up
Note: Ballotpedia reviews external race ratings every week throughout the election season and posts weekly updates even if the media outlets have not revised their ratings during that week.

Endorsements

See also: Ballotpedia: Our approach to covering endorsements

Click the links below to see official endorsement lists published on candidate campaign websites for any candidates that make that information available. If you are aware of a website that should be included, please email us.

Election spending

Campaign finance

Name	Party	Receipts*	Disbursements**	Cash on hand	Date
Donald Davis	Democratic Party	$6,061,265	$5,808,397	$270,842	As of December 31, 2024
Laurie Buckhout	Republican Party	$4,795,622	$4,769,318	$26,304	As of December 31, 2024
Sandy Smith	Republican Party	$948,027	$960,673	$145	As of December 31, 2024
Tom Bailey	Libertarian Party	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2024. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC). * According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee." According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election. * Candidate either did not report any receipts or disbursements to the FEC, or Ballotpedia did not find an FEC candidate ID.

Satellite spending

See also: Satellite spending

Satellite spending describes political spending not controlled by candidates or their campaigns; that is, any political expenditures made by groups or individuals that are not directly affiliated with a candidate. This includes spending by political party committees, super PACs, trade associations, and 501(c)(4) nonprofit groups.^[9]^[10]^[11]

If available, this section includes links to online resources tracking satellite spending in this election. To notify us of a resource to add, email us.

By candidate	By election
Don Davis Laurie Buckhout Tom Bailey	Open Secrets FEC

District analysis

Click the tabs below to view information about voter composition, past elections, and demographics in both the district and the state.

District map - A map of the district before and after redistricting ahead of the 2024 election.
Competitiveness - Information about the competitiveness of 2024 U.S. House elections in the state.
Presidential elections - Information about presidential elections in the district and the state.
State party control - The partisan makeup of the state's congressional delegation and state government.

District map

Competitiveness
Presidential elections

State party control

Below is the district map used in the 2022 election next to the map in place for the 2024 election. Click on a map below to enlarge it.

2022

2024

See also: Primary election competitiveness in state and federal government, 2024

This section contains data on U.S. House primary election competitiveness in North Carolina.

North Carolina U.S. House competitiveness, 2014-2024
Office	Districts/ offices	Seats	Open seats	Candidates	Possible primaries	Contested Democratic primaries	Contested Republican primaries	% of contested primaries	Incumbents in contested primaries	% of incumbents in contested primaries
2024	14	14	5	64	28	2	11	46.4%	4	44.4%
2022	14	14	4	100	28	9	13	78.6%	7	70.0%
2020	13	13	3	64	26	8	5	50.0%	3	30.0%
2018	13	13	0	56	26	10	7	65.4%	8	61.5%
2016	13	13	1	74	26	6	10	61.5%	9	75.0%
2014	13	13	3	60	26	8	9	65.4%	6	60.0%

Post-filing deadline analysis

The following analysis covers all U.S. House districts up for election in North Carolina in 2024. Information below was calculated on 1/10/2024, and may differ from information shown in the table above due to candidate replacements and withdrawals after that time.

Sixty-four candidates filed to run for North Carolina’s 14 U.S. House districts in 2024, including 15 Democrats and 49 Republicans. That’s 4.6 candidates per district, less than the 7.14 candidates per district in 2022, the first election after the number of congressional districts in North Carolina increased from 13 to 14.

In 2020, when the state still had 13 Congressional districts, 4.9 candidates filed to run. In 2018, 4.3 candidates filed, and, in 2016, 5.7 did.

The 2024 election was the first to take place under new district lines that the North Carolina General Assembly adopted on October 25, 2023.

The 64 candidates who filed to run in 2024 were fewer than the 100 who ran in 2022. In 2020, 64 candidates also ran, although North Carolina had one fewer district then. Fifty-six candidates ran in 2018, the decade low.

Five seats were open in 2024, one more than in 2022 and a decade high.

Reps. Jeff Jackson (D-14th) and Dan Bishop (R-8th) did not run for re-election in order to run for state attorney general, while Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-10th) retired from public office. Reps. Kathy Manning (D-6th) and Wiley Nickel (D-13th), who did not run for re-election either, cited the partisan lean of their redrawn districts as the reason.

Fifteen candidates—one Democrat and 14 Republicans—ran for the open 13th district, the most candidates running for a seat in 2024. Thirteen primaries—two Democratic and 11 Republican—were contested. That was fewer than the 22 contested primaries in 2022, and tied with 2020 as the lowest number of contested primaries this decade. As a percentage of all possible primaries, the 13 contested primaries in 2024 were the lowest this decade (46%). North Carolina had 13 districts in 2020, making the 13 contested primaries that year 50% of all possible major party primaries.

Four incumbents—one Democrat and three Republicans—faced primary challengers. The 3rd and 6th Congressional districts were guaranteed to Republicans because no Democrats filed to run. Republicans filed to run in every congressional district, meaning none were guaranteed to Democrats.

Partisan Voter Index

See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index

Heading into the 2024 elections, based on results from the 2020 and 2016 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was R+1. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 1 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made North Carolina's 1st the 220th most Republican district nationally.^[12]

2020 presidential election results

The table below shows what the vote in the 2020 presidential election would have been in this district. The presidential election data was compiled by Daily Kos.

2020 presidential results in North Carolina's 1st based on 2024 district lines
Joe Biden	Donald Trump
50.4%	48.8%

Inside Elections Baselines

See also: Inside Elections

Inside Elections' Baseline is a figure that analyzes all federal and statewide election results from the district over the past four election cycles. The results are combined in an index estimating the strength of a typical Democratic or Republican candidate in the congressional district.^[13] The table below displays the Baseline data for this district.

Inside Elections Baseline for 2024
Democratic Baseline	Republican Baseline	Difference
51.1	48.4	R+2.7

Presidential voting history

See also: Presidential election in North Carolina, 2020

North Carolina presidential election results (1900-2020)

18 Democratic wins
13 Republican wins

Year	1900	1904	1908	1912	1916	1920	1924	1928	1932	1936	1940	1944	1948	1952	1956	1960	1964	1968	1972	1976	1980	1984	1988	1992	1996	2000	2004	2008	2012	2016	2020
Winning Party	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	R	R	R

See also: Party control of North Carolina state government

Congressional delegation

The table below displays the partisan composition of North Carolina's congressional delegation as of May 2024.

Congressional Partisan Breakdown from North Carolina
Party	U.S. Senate	U.S. House	Total
Democratic	0	4	4
Republican	2	10	12
Independent	0	0	0
Vacancies	0	0	0
Total	2	14	16

State executive

The table below displays the officeholders in North Carolina's top four state executive offices as of May 2024.

State executive officials in North Carolina, May 2024
Office	Officeholder
Governor	Roy Cooper
Lieutenant Governor	Mark Robinson
Secretary of State	Elaine Marshall
Attorney General	Josh Stein

State legislature

North Carolina State Senate

Party		As of February 2024
	Democratic Party	20
	Republican Party	30
	Other	0
	Vacancies	0
Total		50

North Carolina House of Representatives

Party		As of February 2024
	Democratic Party	48
	Republican Party	72
	Other	0
	Vacancies	0
Total		120

Trifecta control

The table below shows the state's trifecta status from 1992 until the 2024 election.

North Carolina Party Control: 1992-2024
Fourteen years of Democratic trifectas • Four years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year	92	93	94	95	96	97	98	99	00	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24
Governor	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D
Senate	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R
House	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R

Election context

Ballot access requirements

The table below details filing requirements for U.S. House candidates in North Carolina in the 2024 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in North Carolina, click here.

Filing requirements for U.S. House candidates, 2024
State	Office	Party	Signatures required	Filing fee	Filing deadline	Source
North Carolina	U.S. House	Ballot-qualified party	5% of registered voters in the same party or 8,000, whichever is greater^[14]	$1,740.00	12/15/2023	Source
North Carolina	U.S. House	Unaffiliated	10,000^[15]	$1,740.00	3/5/2024	Source

District history

The section below details election results for this office in elections dating back to 2018.