(NewsNation) — NewsNation/Decision Desk HQ has called the race for North Carolina’s District 1 seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in favor of Rep. Donald Davis. See results of U.S. House and U.S. Senate races from around the country here.
In what was expected to be North Carolina’s lone close U.S. House race, freshman Democrat Rep. Don Davis was challenged by Republican and retired Army Col. Laurie Buckhout.
The 1st District was redrawn in hopes of giving Republicans a better chance of winning as the GOP looks to maintain its slim majority in the U.S. House.
The district includes some of the state’s poorest communities and for two decades, was held by Democrat Rep. G.K. Butterfield, who announced he would not seek re-election and backed Davis in 2022. The seat has not been occupied by a Republican since 1883, according to WUNC.
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Davis, an Air Force veteran, previously served in the North Carolina Senate before being selected as Butterfield’s successor. He has been viewed as a moderate since joining Congress but was one of six Democrats who voted for a Republican resolution condemning Vice President Kamala Harris’ role in the Biden administration’s handling of the U.S. southern border.
Buckhout has been closely aligned with former President Donald Trump and advanced to Tuesday’s general election by defeating Sandy Smith, who lost to Davis in 2022. Buckhout is a political newcomer who started an electronic warfare and cyberspace consulting firm after she retired from the Army in 2010.
With backing from U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson and other top Republicans, Buckhout is hoping to flip the seat for Republicans in a swing state that could play a key role in determining the race between Trump and Harris.
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She believes that the federal government should close the southern border immediately and reinstate Trump’s “Remain In Mexico” policy.
Davis has touted himself as a supporter of bipartisan efforts and said that he has worked to promote civility and respect for others regardless of their political affiliation.
Heading into Tuesday’s election, all 435 seats in the House of Representatives were up for election. Republicans control the chamber with a narrow majority of 220 seats while the Democrats occupy 212 and three vacancies.
