Democratic U.S. Rep. Don Davis won reelection in northeastern North Carolina on Tuesday, Nov. 3, defeating Republican Laurie Buckhout despite a Republican redistricting effort aimed at ousting him. Democrats also appeared positioned to capture as many as five Republican-held seats statewide amid a national surge that gave their party control of the U.S. House.
With every precinct reporting, Davis had 49.4% of the vote to Buckhout’s 47.3%, a margin of 8,500 votes. The former state lawmaker secured his third congressional term after beating Buckhout in 2024 under a different district map. Republicans entered Tuesday holding 10 of North Carolina’s 14 House seats, but Democrats could occupy nine when the next Congress takes office in January.
In the 9th District, which extends from High Point to Fayetteville, Democrat Richard Ojeda declared victory over Republican Rep. Richard Hudson, chairman of the National Republican Campaign Committee. Ojeda was ahead by more than 6,000 votes with 161 of 169 precincts reporting. In the southeastern 7th District, stretching from Fayetteville to Wilmington, Republican Rep. David Rouzer led Democrat Kimberly Hardy and Libertarian Maad Abu-Ghazalah while seeking a seventh term.
Three other Republican incumbents trailed Democratic challengers. Paul Barringer led Rep. Brad Knott by more than 8,000 votes with 132 of 140 precincts counted. Cyril Jefferson held an advantage exceeding 6,000 votes over Rep. Addison McDowell with 194 of 195 precincts reporting. Lakesha Womack led Rep. Tim Moore, a former North Carolina House speaker who helped draw his district, by more than 5,000 votes with 140 of 142 precincts reporting.
Democrat Jamie Ager won the open western North Carolina seat, defeating Republican Jennifer Balkcom and Libertarian Travis Groo. Republican Rep. Chuck Edwards abandoned his reelection campaign after a House censure following sexual harassment allegations, which he denied. Local Republican officials chose Balkcom to replace him as their nominee. Balkcom acknowledged the result on social media and said she intended to run again in 2028.
The Davis-Buckhout contest was among the country’s most expensive House races and was regarded as a toss-up before Election Day. President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and House Speaker Mike Johnson visited the district to support Buckhout. A decorated Army veteran and former Trump administration official, she founded and later sold a defense and cyber-operations consulting business. “I will say that this is a kind of rough night across America for conservatives,” Buckhout said.
Davis, an Air Force veteran regarded as one of Congress’s more moderate members, emphasized his upbringing on an eastern North Carolina tobacco farm. His advertisements contrasted those roots with Buckhout’s move to the state only a few years earlier. The district has elected Black representatives since Eva Clayton’s 1992 victory and has not had a Republican representative since 1883.
Democratic incumbents also secured victories elsewhere. Deborah Ross won a fourth term representing Wake County, while Valerie Foushee earned a third term in a district encompassing Durham, Chapel Hill, Pittsboro and portions of southern Wake County. Alma Adams won her seventh term in the Charlotte-based 12th District, according to The Associated Press.
Democratic control of the House could impede Trump’s agenda during his final two years in office and open the way for oversight hearings involving administration officials. The majority could also consider impeachment proceedings against officials, including Trump, whom Democrats impeached twice during and after his first term. Neither proceeding resulted in a Senate conviction.
